IGGY: A Maximum Ride Novel book 8
by ChaosAngel4us
Summary: Everyone has their skeletons in the closet, even Dylan. What happens when his comes back to haunt him? And it seems that Iggy's new friend has a few secrets of her own. Is it up to Iggy to save the world this time? after ANGEL
1. Prologue

**Eris: Yeah, I probably shoudn't be starting a new story, but whatever. I have Maximum Ride on the brain. This takes place after ANGEL and WILL BE ABOUT FAX!**

**Iggy****: ****_AND _the both of us are the main characters.**

**Eris: ****I may love Iggy, but I promise that we won't be, you know, _together_. **

**Iggy: ****And since Max/Dylan is currently cannon, it—**

**Eris:**** —UNFORTUNATELY!**

**Iggy:**** —will be in the beginning. But Eris promises that there will be FAX. **

**Eris: ****So anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. If I did, Iggy would be mine and Dylan would be hanging in my nonexistant cellar. Hm, note to self: get a cellar.<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Prologue<span>**

_Everyone has their skeletons in the closet, even Dylan. What happens when his comes back to haunt him? Eventual FAX, I/E, Ratchet/Star, and OC/OC; after ANGEL_

"Dylan."

A young man, sixteen at least with sandy brown hair and blazing blue eyes stepped into the room. He was quite handsome, with a cold face and hardened eyes: perfection. At the sound of his name, Dylan turned and walked calmly over to the female scientist standing over a microscope. "Dr. Camerose" was written on her nametag.

"Mother?"

"How are you feeling?" she asked without looking up.

"My body is strong; I feel no pain."

The woman looked up at that, a cruel smile on her lips. "Good." She responded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You are strong, my son. You are perfect and will save the world from its humanity." She returned to her microscope, jotting down notes every here and there.

The woman was dressed in a white lab coat with her light blond hair tied out of her face in a ponytail. She had piercing blue eyes, like her son, and high cheekbones. Wrinkles of old age were beginning to make her stony face sag, but she still looked much younger than she actually was.

"Mother, you promised me wings." Dylan said. Dr. Camerose looked up at him.

"You are perfect; I have given you everything: enhanced strength, speed, sight, reflexes, and strengthened your pheromone dosage along with—"

"I want wings." He insisted. The scientist sighed and turned her entire body to face him.

"But— fine; you shall have your wings. Once my colleagues and I have finished the _Chiroptera_ _Project_, you shall have your wings." She assured, turning back to her work. Dylan nodded slowly before exiting the room.

"Give me one more week, my son, and you shall have your wings."

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><p>"Eris, can you hear me?"<p>

I groaned, opening an eye to stare at the boy talking to me. When my eyes focused, I recognized a familiar set of black eyes and sooty brown hair with the tips naturally white. He grinned at me and reached his hand out through the bars of his cage, attempting to reach me.

"What, Maxx?"

"We're getting outta here." He answered, the grin still on his face. I practically jumped awake, but only then did I realize the forming of a bruise on his left cheek.

"What happened?"

Maxx shrugged and leaned against the bars of his cage. "You know, the usual. They come for experiments, we struggle, they beat us 'til we're unconscious."

I remained silent, playing with my strands of white hair. How do you respond to something like that? You don't; that's what. We were breathing in time, Maxx and I, until two scientists walked in, one of them carrying a bag of blood. My stomach lurched hungrily as he crouched down by my cage.

"Be careful, Pierson. She's part _Diaemus youngi_, part white-winged vampire bat. Dangerous, you know?" the one still standing warned. Pierson nodded once and slid the bag into my cage. Tentatively, I moved toward it. I quickly snatched the bag up and tore into it with my tiny fangs, lapping at the ice cold blood hungrily. I could practically see the fascination on both scientists' faces.

I was a lab experiment; that was the only way I was able to eat. Maxx and the others were barely fed, but because I can't stomach their food they feed me separately. Therefore, I fed differently and the scientists observed the whole entire time.

Being 10% vampire bat _really_ sucks.

But that's not the half of it! I was completely normal once; when I was six I was kidnapped by ITEX and used in their experiments for a new brand of executioners: the _Chiroptera_ _Project_. I wasn't originally part of it because I was the first to be taken and experimented on. I was originally in their plan to create a race of vampires (using vampire _bat_ DNA), but they used too much of the bat's genetics so I ended up with wings along with fangs and a stomach for only blood.

The others soon followed, three of them older than me. A scientist named Annie Camerose began a new project. The project involving six avian-human hybrids backfired, so Dr. Camerose decided to try something new. With the experiment on me being a little _too_ successful, they shifted their view from mythical creatures to a new brand of flight sufficient animals: bats.

And that's basically my story, just like the others. Kidnapped and then given a painful transformation that almost killed us. Well, it _did_ kill three of us. Originally there were nine of us still kicking; now there's six, Maxx and I included.

"Feed the others; don't want 'em dying. Yet." Pierson said with a laugh. The other scientist chuckled too and went to fetch my comrades some food. I licked the excess blood from my fingers before staring at myself in disgust.

What have I become?

"Eris?" Maxx called out to me. I turned to look at him sadly; my once blue eyes now pitch black. "Are you alright?"

I was furious to see tears begin to form in my eyes and blinked them back the best I could. I nodded slowly, pulling my legs up to my chin and resting on them. "It's just… I remember being human, and now I feel so much like an animal that it disgusts me."

"We're all in the same boat." Maxx assured me. I glared at him.

"_How_ can you know how I feel?" I demanded harshly. "I-I can only live off of feeding on mammalian or avian blood. I physically _cannot_ stomach any other food. Do you know how horrifying it is? No! You don't!"

Maxx just sat there in his crate and watched me. I stopped speaking and sat there in silence once more, our breathing evening out and joining together once more.

"It'll all be okay. One more hour, and then we're free." He promised. I turned to look at him and smiled to the best of my ability. I'm sure the sight was gruesome; I still had blood in my mouth and I could feel it dripping down my fangs. Maxx smiled back and reached out to link his fingers with mine. At that moment, a door swung open and in stepped a labcoat with glassed and blond hair complete with a graying mustache.

"My name is Jeb; I am here to help you."

I eyed him warily as he opened Maxx's cage and then mine. With a quick tuck and roll I was out and crouched by my leader, Double X (AKA, Maxx). Four cages later, Finn, Otto, Cale, and Lány were out and by our side. Maxx tugged me into a standing position and dragged me down the hall after the strange labcoat who was rescuing us.

"Quickly now; we don't have much time." Jeb pressed as we soon broke out into a run. No alarms had been set off yet, but I had a bad feeling about this. Turn after turn, I was beginning to feel like we'd never get out, but the next turn led us face to face with a boy who I will never forget: Dylan Camerose, the son of the labcoat who did this to me: who did this to all of us.

"Jeb Batchelder, I presume?" he said rather coldly. Jeb stepped in front of us and Maxx pushed me behind him with the others.

"Dylan, such a promising boy. Why do you willingly let your mother experiment on you?"

"She makes me better, stronger. I am perfect."

"Perfectly insane…" Cale muttered from beside me. Dylan's eyes flashed to the reddish-brown haired boy beside me. I nudged him harshly and he shut up.

"Why do you wish to set my mother's experiments free?" he asked. Maxx stood up to his full height and stepped up beside Jeb.

"Why do you wish to stop us?"

Dylan turned to look at Maxx, a smile on his deadly lips. "You see, after my mother finishes with her experimentation on you six, she will give me wings so I can fly, Experiment W7643d."

"Why would you want to fly? I wish I was normal…" I whispered. Dylan turned to look at me and Maxx gave me a glance that said be-quiet-before-he-kills-you.

"Flying is a gift, one you seem to squander and not appreciate, Subject VP01." He replied, taking a step towards us. "No more talking; I will not let you escape!"

He tossed Jeb out of the way, causing him to fly sideways, crack his skull against the wall, and fall unconscious. Maxx snarled and grabbed Dylan's shirt, pushing him backwards and away from the rest of us. Lány whimpered and cowered behind me.

"GO!" Maxx shouted. Ahead was the exit; it wouldn't take much effort to push by the superhuman. With a hesitant glance at Maxx fighting Dylan, I pushed Lány and Otto forward while Finn and Cale followed behind us. I glanced backward and could tell that Maxx was going to lose. Dylan had him up against the wall and was bashing his head against it over and over. I grabbed Finn's wrist and pointed.

"Shall we?" I asked.

"Let's." He replied. I nodded and we raced back inside. I grabbed Dylan around the throat and tugged while Finn broke his arm, causing him to release Maxx. Maxx coughed and spluttered, his eyes rolling back and blood pouring from his fractured skull. The scent was making me go wild, but I hung onto Dylan. The superhuman wrenched me off of him and tossed me backward.

"Eris!" Finn shouted as Dylan lumbered over to him. He swung and caught Finn in the mouth causing a stream of blood to fly out. Angrily, Finn grabbed Dylan by the hair and swung him against the wall.

Adrenaline pounded through my veins as I launched myself at Dylan. He caught my foot and pushed me backward; then he grabbed Finn and bashed him over the head with his fist, using it like a club.

"I will have my wings!" Dylan shouted, grabbing Maxx's unconscious body and twisting his neck until it cracked. I screamed in horror and fury.

Dylan had just killed Maxx.

Once again I launched myself at Dylan, but he didn't have a chance to react. I sunk my teeth into his throat and tore into the tender flesh. Dylan roared in pain and swatted at me, but hell hath no fury like a… uh, woman whose friend was just brutally murdered. I know that's not the actual saying, but close enough.

With one twist, I snapped Dylan's neck and yanked his head clean off, fighting the urge to feast on his remains. Finn stared at Maxx's dead body and at me holding the head of the one who killed our friend.

"E-eris?" Finn tentatively asked. Disgusted with myself, I dropped the head and backed away slowly. My hands were covered in blood and my stomach let out a fierce, hungry growl. Finn took a step towards me as I stood there in horror. I'd never killed a person before; it was… painful.

"I-I killed him…"

Finn nodded slowly, grabbed my wrist, and began pulling me out the door. Surprisingly, no one else had come to stop us.

"Eris, we gotta go."

"But, Maxx—"

"We _gotta go_." Finn pressed. I nodded and followed him out; the hospital gown I was wearing was not very good at insulating me as I lifted my arms and spread my wings. Finn was already up in the air and with several flaps of my arms and a running start I managed to join him. With a final glance backwards at the ITEX branch we were captive in for several years, I flapped my arms and my white tinted wings carried me towards my family.

A single tear fell in remembrance of what happened here: the first time I watched my family die and the first time I killed someone.

But, we were free. Finally, we were free from this hellhole. I bit my lip and soared upward, content to feel the wind on my face and my bare toes. I noticed Lány falling back a bit so I zoomed close to her and nudged her arm, helping her fly.

"Where's Double X?" she asked. Finn glanced back at me and I gave her a forced smile.

"He had to stay back."

"Why?" Cale piped up. Lány nodded in agreement, her baby blue eyes searching. Finn flew closer to us and took over the explaining.

"Because he sacrificed himself for our escape."

"You mean he's—" Cale started and Finn nodded.

"Yes. Maxx is dead."

No one said a word as we flew onward. Our hearts were heavy, but we were free; free at last.

"Finn, where are we going?" I asked after the silence became too oppressive. Finn scanned the horizon, noticing an abandoned ski cabin. He pointed with his finger and began to decrease his altitude.

"There."

We all followed silently behind him, mourning the loss of our dearest friend.

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><p>Dr. Camerose stepped into the hallway, smiling sadistically. The experiments were better than she expected. Due to adding more animal DNA to their genetic code, they were able to fly almost instantly. Though it was a shame that Experiment W7643d was terminated, the raw fury held within Subject VP01 was extraordinary. It was all that they had hoped for and more.<p>

"In time, we shall see how well you adapt and more tests will be run on a later date." With a pitiful glance to her decapitated son, she continued. "But at the moment, we will begin tests for cloning my son."

She stepped towards the unconscious man in a lab coat. She "tsk"ed softly and kneeled beside him.

"Jeb Batchelder. Such a shame you didn't realize it was all a set up." she grinned sadistically. "Well, I'm afraid I cannot have you remember this encounter. Guard!"

At her shout, a wolf-shaped man came into the room. Dr. Camerose pointed at Jeb.

"Take him and have his memory… altered."

The guard nodded and took his unconscious body away. Dr. Camerose then turned to her dead son, a rueful smile on her face.

"You impulsiveness led to this, my son." She said, stroking his hair matted with blood. "But, I shall remake you and give you those wings you sought after so fiercely."

She called over another guard.

"Have this room cleaned and take my son to Room 541 for experimenting."

The guard nodded and did as he was told. Dr. Camerose gently wiped the blood from her fingers, stood, straightened her jacket, and briskly walked back to her lab, her high heels echoing through the hallways.

The _Chiroptera_ _Project _would have to go on hold for the moment. The Flock was still acting as fugitives and they were going to need someone to use as a distraction. She grinned. Her son could help out with that endeavor.

Dr. Camerose stopped once more and stared at the dead experiment that had been terminated minutes prior by her son. Perhaps—

"Guard! Take this experiment to my Lab. I wish to… revive it."

The guard nodded and did as he was told.


	2. Chapter 1: Fiercely Loyal

**Eris: ****Thanks to everyone who read this story. Reviews, I want them. You don't have to review, but it's much appreciated. **

**Iggy: ****In other words, review or she'll rip your head off like she did to Dylan last chapter.**

**Eris: ****Hehe... To clear things up, the Dylan that died was the original Dylan. The one with Max and the Flock is his clone. Dylan has all his previous memories and is a very, _very_ bad dude. The book said he originally got in a car accident, but they lie. Dylan was evil and still is. That's my interpretation.**

**Iggy:**** Way to give everything away...**

**Eris: Oh, yeah. Another thing, this chapter takes place after my one-shot Lies, but you don't have to read it to understand this story. It would be appreciated, but unnecessary. **

**Also, as another note, Otto and Lány are modeled after a pair of twins I babysit who are actual evil geniuses. They can build bombs, I swear it. They're a real-life interpretation of Gazzy and Iggy.**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. I own Maxx, Finn, Cale, Eris, Otto, Lány, and Sparrow (who will be developed in the next chapter).<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1: Fiercely Loyal<span>**

_-Two years later-_

"Eris!" a masculine voice shouted throughout the house. I groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over my head. Footsteps came into my room and with a shove, I was pushed out of bed. After struggling for a few minutes with the covers, I managed to glare up at a mop of black hair, vibrant green eyes, and a sadistic smirk. Oh, he was gonna get it.

"Die, Finn!" I shouted, tackling him to the ground. He laughed as I landed on him, but quickly flipped so I flew backwards onto the bed. I bared my tiny fangs at him and jumped, but he flipped out of my way and I crashed into my side table.

"Ow…" I muttered, clutching my head in pain. Finn was still grinning but offered me a hand up. I scowled at him, but allowed him to help me.

Finn wasn't usually so playful, but I guess I bring that out in him. He's our leader, the oldest of our little gang. I'm fifteen and he's two years older than me. Cale's sixteen and the twins are both thirteen. Maxx, if he'd still been alive, would have been eighteen… Finn was a good leader; he always protected us when we left home and took care of us: things such as food, clothes, and exercise.

"You okay?" he asked as I rubbed the forming knot on my head. I nodded, still glaring at him. "Good; breakfast is ready, so get your little arse down there."

I made a face at him and sat down at my desk. "First let me answer my chat box and I'll come down."

Finn nodded, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and exited the room. I pulled up the chat room I shared with a few other people and noticed _pyronicdude-outtasight01_ was online. I grinned and began talking to him.

_ChaosAngel4us has logged on_

_**ChaosAngel4us:**_Hey

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ Hey, Eris. What's up?

_**ChaosAngel4us:**_Getting ready to eat. Thought I'd say 'hi' first

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ Ha, good to know :) I'm thinking 'bout making brekki but I don't know what to make. Suggestions?

_**ChaosAngel4us:**_Hm… I don't—

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ Right, you don't eat food. Nvrmnd

_**ChaosAngel4us:**_Sorry

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ Not your fault

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><p>I sighed and decided there wasn't much else I could say to her. I mean, what do you say to a mutant who can only eat blood? Nothing much. I offered her a quick goodbye and closed the browser. It was beginning to rain. I heard Dylan yell for Max to get back inside and decided I should start making food. I jumped up and made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. I could hear Max shivering in the next room and wondered what she was doing outside that early.<p>

"Eggs and bacon!" Gazzy shouted, running into the kitchen. I turned to grin at him and nodded.

"Fine, G-Man. We'll have eggs and bacon."

Gazzy whooped and spun around in his seat. Max and Dylan made their way into the kitchen next, soon followed by Nudge. I almost sighed when I realized everyone was here.

Angel was dead.

Who could forget that?

Fang was gone and _not_ coming back.

Dylan had him to thank for that.

Me? Well, Ella was gone and— I dunno, it hurt, yeah.

"What's for breakfast, Ig?" Max asked. I nodded towards the pan I was frying eggs in.

"Eggs and bacon, Max, at Gazzy's request."

I could practically feel Max's smile and I was happy to find that the shadows I usually saw were becoming clearer. My sight had been coming back for a while now, but it's pretty much only been in the form of vague shadows and not too clear colors. I could still see against white backgrounds, but I was excited that my actual vision was returning.

About time, actually.

"Max, my eyesight's getting better." I said as nonchalantly as possible. Max hugged me and I grinned, patting her back.

"That's great, Iggy! I'm glad things are going well."

I nodded and returned to my cooking. Who knows? Maybe by next week I'll have my sight back completely. Perhaps the last time we were captured by the school, they did something else to my eyes because ever since then (in book three) my sight has gotten increasingly better.

I dunno, maybe it's just my wishful thinking and nothing more.

When the eggs were done, I scraped them into a bowl and pulled the bacon out of the microwave. The scent was driving me crazy as I placed it on the table.

"Bon appétit." I said and we all dug in.

Breakfast went by rather smoothly without much talking, but something kept telling me that I needed to check this Eris girl out more. She _said_ she was a mutant like us, but how could I know for sure? I couldn't exactly meet up with her because we're both being hunted, but what _could_ I do? She hadn't told me everything about her, only her name and we both exchanged our "species" types. She's part bat, _vampire_ bat. It was an… interesting revelation, but I don't think she'd lie to me. I mean, Fang put together a gang through the internet so I don't see why she'd lie…

I excused myself from the table and could feel Max's eyes on me as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. A chat box had popped up, showing that I had a new message.

_**ChaosAngel4us:**_what's it like to fly for you?

_pyronicdude-outtasight01 has logged on_

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ What do you mean?

_**ChaosAngel4us: **_I mean, my wings are different from yours and I'm curious

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ It feels like an extension of your body, I guess. Kinda like breathing

_**ChaosAngel4us: **_Oh

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ How's it for you?

_**ChaosAngel4us: **_Different. We have to move our arms to fly, so it's harder than breathing.

_**ChaosAngel4us: **_I gotta go; my brother accidentally set himself on fire

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ On fire?

_ChaosAngel4us has logged off_

_**pyronicdude-outtasight01:**_ Kay, bye…

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><p>Otto ran past my door, on fire. How? I don't know… It's kind of sad that my "family" is so… strange. I sighed and gave Iggy a quick explanation and goodbye before logging off. We don't get to talk for very long at a time anymore. I guess we both have our dysfunctional families to blame for it…<p>

"Eris! Can you put out Otto?" Finn yelled from the kitchen. I sighed, exited my room, and went hunting for the fire extinguisher. Sadly, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. As Otto ran by again, I doused his floppy, singed hair and clothes with the sticky, white foam. He sighed and looked up at me with his baby blue eyes.

"Thanks, E. It won't happen again."

"But it will…" I muttered as he walked back towards Lány, his evil, twisted, partner-in-crime. I love them both, but their shenanigans get on my nerves…

"Thanks, Eris!" Finn shouted. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen. Finn was sitting there, reading a book on the civil war and Cale was busy constructing a house out of toothpicks and playing cards.

To be honest, he was doing a pretty good job.

My little family (or "Colony") and I were quite special. First of all, we are all 90% human and 10% _Chiroptera_, or bat. Like bats, we have wings that extend from out thumb to our waist and fold up almost perfectly against our body. Our leader was Finn, the oldest of our little group. Finn had a photographic memory, so it made it easy for him to remember things. It was just the way his stupid, oversized brain worked. He tended to hold it over my head too. He's the reason why I don't have a journal.

Cale was just… artistic. _Really_ artistic. He could paint perfectly and there was a huge, clay bat sitting in our living room that he had made. It was perfectly accurate in everyway. In another hour or so, that house he was making out of cards and toothpicks? It would look like an actual, miniature scale house. I wouldn't be surprised if he made furniture and mini-people too.

Otto and Lány were our mad scientists. They _loved_ experimenting, which was probably why Otto ended up on fire. They were also able to communicate with each other telepathically which I think is pretty cool. I wonder if they've finished the flame retardant clothing… probably not, judging by the flame conducting Otto we saw a few minutes ago.

Me? Well, I'm different in my own way. I'm part Vampire bat and therefore cannot eat normal food. My diet consists of blood, blood, and only blood which is kind of gross in my opinion. I can't help it though… Originally, I was part of a plan to create the mythical creatures, Vampires, but they put too much bat in me and voila! I have bat wings. No special powers other than the usual: fantastic night vision, echo location, and flight.

And that is us, our little colony of bat-humans.

I took a seat next to Cale and watched him with his constructing for a few minutes. It was times like these that I remember my real family.

You see, we weren't taken as infants from our parents. I was six when I was abducted, the others a bit older. We all have memories of our families, but we were so young, how could we possibly remember how to find them? Sure, we'd searched, but none of us could even remember our real names.

Well, I can, but I prefer not to remember. I have a new family now, people who are like me and understand me. My real _human_ parents wouldn't be able to.

"You okay, E?" Cale asked, snapping me out of my stupor. I nodded and gave him a tight smile.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Go sleep then." Finn said. I looked over at him to see his nose still stuck in a book. I rolled my eyes and continued watching Cale work. His tongue stuck out of his mouth slightly as he bent cards and adjusted toothpicks. After another few minutes, he smiled successfully and patted my head.

"Look, E, it's finished!" he announced. I observed it carefully and nodded with an equally as bright smile. No matter how good at these things he was, Cale's accomplishments would always stun me. Otto came into the room and stared awestruck at the perfectly scaled copy of our one story house.

"Wow, Cale. That's fantastic!" the thirteen-year-old genius complimented. "If I had a tenth of your talent, I would be Picasso!"

Cale grinned sheepishly and I ruffled the architect's auburn hair.

"I'm gonna go check on Thing 2. Watch Otto and don't let him set anything else on fire."

Otto pouted. "Come_ on_, E. I'll be careful!" he protested. Finn looked up from his book, shot Otto a warning glance, and then returned to the pages of ancient America. I rolled my eyes, but smiled as I walked into the backroom where Lány and Otto kept their "lab". Lány was reading a book on engineering when I knocked on the door. She looked up and smiled at me.

"Hi, Eris. Wanna see what Otto and I just made?"

Before I could protest, a small, metallic bat flew off of her bed and circled me. I stared at it hesitantly, waiting for it to blow up in my face.

"It's alright, Eris. It won't blow up; I promise."

Not that I didn't trust the little brunette, but I wasn't going to take my chances. I sat down next to Lány on the bed and the bat perched on her shoulder, staring at me with metallic red eyes. I reached out to pet it and it cooed.

"I don't think bat's make that sort of noise, Lány." I said as it started purring. Lány grinned at me.

"I know, but it's only the first successful model. Give Otto and I time and we'll—"

Lány was interrupted by a window in the kitchen smashing inward. Lány almost screamed, but I covered her mouth when I heard inhuman growls and struggling from the other room. I motioned for her to stay put and hide before creeping towards the kitchen.

Inside, I saw two superhumans, like the one who killed Maxx, haul off Cale and Otto while another held Finn by his throat up against the wall. I began to flashback to a similar time two years ago with Maxx instead of Finn.

"Where are the other two? The females?" he questioned robotically. Finn struggled to breathe and his eye caught mine.

"Dead. The younger one couldn't stay airborne and fell to her death when we escaped while the other one died last year in her sleep." He lied. The superhuman nodded, satisfied, and tossed Finn towards another.

"Take him with the others."

I watched in horror as three of my family members were taken in a helicopter. Tentatively, I walked into the room. My eyes caught the broken model of our house Cale had built and tears built up in my eyes. What could I do? I couldn't take on a bunch of superhumans in a helicopter. All I would do is get myself captured and what good am I to them captured?

I fell to my knees on the floor, tears falling freely. How could I help them? What could I do? Hope filled me suddenly as I stood and ran to the laptop in my room.

Iggy. Iggy could help me.


	3. Ch 2: Either Help Me or Get Outta My Way

**Eris: ****...I'm hungry.**

**Iggy: ****You're _always_ hungry.**

**Eris: ****...You're point.**

**Iggy: *****facepalm* **

**Eris: ****So, now we see Iggy's response to Eris' dillema and then how his flock reacts to the news of another mutant out there in trouble. Then we get to brutally kill of Dylan. *rubs hands together and insert evil laugh* Muahahahaha! **

**Iggy: ****Don't worry folks. Eris won't kill of Dylan—**

**Eris: —_YET._**

**Iggy: ****—she won't kill off Dylan.**

**Eris: *****grumbles uninteligibly* That's what _you_ think...**

**And a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you dads out there. Please review! I know people are reading this story. I HAVE LOTS OF HITS!**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: Dylan dies in the next book. The <em>actual<em> book. He dies quite brutally by a gorgeous female individual named Eris. And Fang stops acting like a total arsehole and gets back together with Max. Max II (Maya) ends up heartbroken and commits suicide which happens to save the world from blowing up because she had a nuclear bomb inside of her that would have activated that next second had she been alive. Max and Fang have three children named Dusk, Summer, and Star and they all live happily ever after. The end.**

**No, seriously. That's what will be in the next book. If it isn't... then James Patterson is going to need to go into hiding. For like, ever. **

**Seriously.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2: Either Help Me or Get Outta My Way<span>**

I logged onto my account and started a web-chat with Iggy when I saw he was still online, something we hadn't been able to do in a while. He accepted and my screen flickered to an image of a strawberry blond teen with mostly sightless gray-blue eyes. He tilted his head to stare at me.

"What's up?"

"It's urgent." I said, my voice panicked. Iggy quickly picked it up and tensed, preparing for the bad news. "My family has been abducted by ITEX and I need help."

I _knew_ that tears were falling down my face; I _knew_ that Lány was sitting beside me, holding my arm and sobbing fiercely; I _knew_ I could trust Iggy simply because he was in my position and was possibly the only other person I could ask for help.

Besides my family, but they were the ones in trouble.

"K-kidnapped?" he stuttered, furrowing his brows. "How can I help you?"

"We," I gestured to the sobbing Lány, "need more people to help us with our search and rescue. Lány can find them, but with only two of us it would be nearly impossible."

Iggy nodded. "Where are you? I'll meet up with you along with my flock."

I hesitated; revealing the location of my home meant— I shook my head; no, he could be trusted. He could _help _me.

"Eris?"

"Utah. We're hidden in the King's Peak Mountains. We'll wait for you at the visitor's center." I responded. Iggy nodded.

"We'll be there in three days, minimum." And with that we exited out of the video chat. I turned my head to look at Lány. I stroked her hair and lulled her into a dreamless sleep as she wept.

"Don't worry, Lány. Help is coming." I reassured. She shook her head, tears falling even harder

"Y-you don't get it. T-they're hurting, Eris. Otto is in, he's in pain!" she gasped, collapsing against me. I watched her sadly, my heart clenching for my family. A fire burned in the pit of my stomach as I grew angrier and angrier. I wiped the tears from Lány's eyes and stood up.

"We have to be strong. We're going to rescue them and we need to be prepared." I said, stepping into the leadership role. Sure, it was strange taking Finn's place, but someone had to be strong and it wasn't going to be Lány. "We have three days to pack what we need, understand?"

Lány nodded. "We'll bring Sparrow too."

I crooked an eyebrow at her. "'Sparrow'? Who's that?"

Lány motioned to the metal bat that made strange animal noises, a tentative smile on her face. "He is." She pointed. I slowly shook my head.

"He's a bat, you know. Not a bird."

Lány's smile got a little bigger. "It was Otto's idea."

"Of _course_ it was…"

* * *

><p>After closing the web browser, I jumped down the stairs, landing in the living room where everyone was gathered. Max looked at me in confusion, wondering what was wrong with me. I took in a deep breath to keep from shouting my news.<p>

"There are mutants in danger and we have to help them."

"There are what?" Max asked incredulously.

"There is a group of bat-human hybrids that have been kidnapped by ITEX. One of them requested my help, so we're going to help, right?" I said. The Flock stared at me and Max walked over to me, placing a hand on my arm and speaking to me like she was talking to a child.

"We don't know them, first of all—"

"_I_ know them." I protested, interrupting Max. She gave me a look and continued.

"— Second, why should we risk our necks for mutants when they could very well be ITEX spies? Did you ever thing of that?"

I glared at her. "So, you're _not_ going to save the world, one mutant at a time?" I hissed. I could feel Max glaring back, but all I could actually see was her shape and some of her face.

"I refuse to let anyone else in my flock get hurt."

"But—"

"_End_ of discussion." She stated firmly, sitting back down next to Dylan. I shook my head in disgust.

"Fine, Max. _What_ever. _I'll_ go help Eris _with_ or_ without_ your help. Who's with me?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You're not going _anywhere,_ mister—" Max stared, standing again and stalking towards me.

"Max, either you help me or get outta my way." I said sternly. "I'm going to help her; you can sit here and continue moping about Fang while snogging Mr. Perfect over there, _I don't care_. I'm going and you're not stopping me." I turned and walked up the stairs, preparing a backpack.

I threw in two extra sets of clothing, a baseball cap, two empty water bottles (that I would fill downstairs), and grabbed some wires and bits of unfinished bomb pieces. They would come in handy. Along with tucking a few already made bombs in my boxers and coat seam, I stood to go get food from downstairs. That was when I heard an almost silent knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in; it's open." I called. The door clicked open and without looking I could tell it was Gazzy. He shifted nervously in my room and I turned to look at him. "Can I help you?"

"I wanna come with you." He blurted. I watched him carefully, not saying anything. "I mean, Max is being all PMS-y," I grinned at his word choice; who knew the nine-year-old knew a word like PMS? "and I want to help you."

"Why? It could be dangerous, you know."

Gazzy nodded. "Yeah, but you're my best friend, my partner-in-crime. I can't leave you out to dry."

"Gazzy," I started, standing and walking towards him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, "when did you get so fantastic?"

Gazzy grinned and ran to his room to pack a small bag. I couldn't stop smiling as I walked back downstairs and into the kitchen to grab some cans and such. Max was waiting for me.

"Stop, Iggy. You're not going anywhere."

"Yes I am, Max. You're not stopping me. If I have to leave by force or in the middle of the night, I will." I said sternly. Max matched my stare, holding it for a long time before sighing, giving up.

"She's really that important to you?"

I nodded and Max sighed again. "_Fine_, you win. We'll _all_ go, but don't you dare think that I'll agree to something like this again in the future." She hissed. I grinned at her and pulled her into a hug, her head meeting my chest.

"Thanks, Max."

She sighed and pulled out of my grasp. She tapped my brow, a grin on her lips. "Remember, never again."

I nodded and Gazzy chose that moment to grace us with his stinky presence.

"Oh, yuck! Gazzy, you're disgusting!" Nudge yelled from the living room. Gazzy grinned at me and we fist bumped.

"Project: Incapacitate the enemy under way."

I shook my head at his childishness. "Naw, Gaz. Max and everyone else is coming with us."

Gazzy's face fell, but he nodded and returned to the living room to apologize to the gasping Nudge. Their yelling could be heard through the Martinez's house. Max sighed and shook her head as Dylan entered the room. I watched their shadowy forms, suspicion gripping my heart. Something about Dylan alarmed me. Sure, he was a good fighter, but he was… odd. Like he was hiding something.

"So, you gave in?" He asked. Max nodded and looked in my direction.

"If it's important to him, it's important to me. Besides, I can't let him mount a rescue mission on his own. If he's going into a life threatening situation, _I'm _gonna be there to watch his back." She explained. I smiled at her and went to gather up some food to distribute in between our backpacks.

I swallowed hard as the seriousness of what was going on hit me. We were breaking into a secret experimentation facility to rescue an acquaintance of mine's family. I barely knew her, but she was in trouble. She trusted me enough to come to me for help; I _needed_ to help her.

Who else could she go to?

I was putting my life, my _flock's_ life on the line for someone I hardly knew, but something about her just… No, I wasn't falling for her; I just had this _feeling_ that I could trust her. It was… weird.

But I was going to help her. Max agreed and we'd make it out alive for sure.

I took in a deep breath and swallowed hard. _I'll be there soon, Eris. Don't worry…_

* * *

><p>As the helicopter flew away from the small, hidden house in the King's Peak Mountains, the three captive bat-human hybrids struggled fiercely against their captors. Otto turned frightened eyes to Finn.<p>

"Where are Lány and Eris?" he whispered. Finn looked up to see if their captors were paying them any attention.

"Safe." He murmured. Otto gave him a short nod and returned to struggling against his bonds. A Superhuman kicked the struggling boy and caused his to yelp out in pain.

"You cannot escape. It is futile." He spoke monotonously.

Cale sat motionlessly, a frown of concentration on his lips. Finn watched the boy one year his junior with curiosity. What was the teen going to try? It seemed that his motionless-ness alerted a few of the superhumans and one of them grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"What are you—" he started, only to be cut off by Cale's fist flying to meet his nose. With a satisfied crack, the nose broke and the superhuman let him go. Cale grinned and jumped out of the open helicopter, spreading his arms to allow the wind to catch his wings and take him away.

"Get help!" Finn shouted. "Save Otto! Find Eris!"

Cale didn't look back, but Finn knew he had heard him. Cale flew off in the distance, getting further and further away while their captors shouted at each other about either retrieving Cale or continuing on with "the mission". Finn gave Otto a reassuring look.

"They'll come back; I _know_ they will."

"Not if we can help it." Someone said from Finn's right. Finn turned and almost shouted in surprise. There, crouching next to him, was a familiar teen with sooty brown hair with natural white tips staring at him with glinting black eyes and a sadistic smirk.

"_Maxx…"_ Finn breathed in horror as Maxx patted his head.

"Hello, Finn. It's good to see you again. You know, since you _left_ me at the lab while you took my Colony and escaped."

Finn shook his head. "You were dead."

"I was."

"But then—"

Maxx cut him off by sending an uppercut to his jaw. Finn gritted his teeth and spat out blood, the coppery taste still in his mouth. Otto whimpered and Maxx turned to grin at the thirteen-year-old.

"Hey, Otto, been a while, huh?"

"Why are you doing this?" Finn demanded. Maxx stood and kicked his head.

"Shut-up."

He walked up to the front of the helicopter and left his two former comrades in the back. One of the Superhumans, "Omega" they told Maxx, stared at him curiously.

"You know them?"

"Used to." Maxx responded nonchalantly. "No big deal. Dr. Camerose needs them, so I bring them. End of story."

Omega nodded curtly and turned his emotionless eyes forward. Maxx stood beside him, images of a familiar white haired girl who drank blood. A smile wormed its way onto his lips as he thought about her.

"_Give her a more of a thirst for blood she'd be perfect."_ He thought. Omega glanced at the man who was part _Lasionycteris noctivagans_, part silver-haired bat curiously. He would have to watch him; who knows if he still cared about his old family.


	4. Chapter 3: Help From Unlikely Friends

**Eris: Sorry for the long wait! **

**Iggy: we were outta town for the past month.**

**Eris: But it's still no excuse. I want to thank you for reading this and I hope you're not too disappointed in me... This is where things start picking up, so hang on to your seats and get ready for a bumpy ride!**

**Iggy: The part about Angel makes me sad...**

**Eris: Hush! Don't give anything away yet!**

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I bought a cellar. And some super glue.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 3: Help From Unlikely Friends<span>**

Cale had never flown so much in his life. His arms and wings hurt from moving so much and his legs were going numb from dangling behind him for so long. His black eyes scanned the scenery, seeing nothing but rocks, rocks, and more rocks. There was no sign of civilization and his stamina was fading fast.

From the look of things, he wasn't going to be able to carry on for much longer, but he _had_ to find the girls. As he looked around the landscape, he noticed an almost hidden cave settled in the side of a cavern wall. Had Cale been less exhausted, he would've noticed the freshly burned fire and several backpacks that were lined up against the wall.

"_Where am I…?"_ he asked himself. When he tired further, he decided to land in the small cave, taking in deep breaths and trying to calm his racing heart. Half of his family was kidnapped while the other half was supposedly safe. He _had_ to find Eris and Lány; they were his only hope of rescuing Otto and Finn.

Cale grunted as he laid, exhausted, on the floor of the cave. He had flown for what seemed like hours. Due to the fact that they were being hunted, he along with the other members of his Colony weren't able to get out and fly as much as they wanted. He had very little flight stamina as a result and his wings along with his arms ached uncontrollably.

"I… have to find… Eris and… Lány…" he gasped, trying to stand, but to no avail. His vision clouded, became foggy, and as he fought for consciousness, he could've sworn he saw a pair of black wings enter the cave and a figure stare at him with hooded, onyx eyes.

"Who are _you_?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you think it's time?"<em>

"_We've run a lot of tests; I think it's stable enough to try movement."_

"_How did it manage to survive the explosion?" _

Voices. Noise.

Where am I?

"_It's a shame that it got so ruined. It would be so much easier on the eyes had it not burned from the explosion…"_

"_Yes, a… necessary evil, but now it's more advanced. It's more special than the others and that is why it survived."_

I am not an "it"…

"_Dr. Camerose just got a message from her son: the remaining experiments from the _Chiroptera Project_ survived and they will all be eliminated save experiment VP01. He also says that he will bring the flock in as well."_

The flock… my family… they're in danger! I must… help them…

"_Take this experiment to a crate." _

"_Yes, sir."_

I could feel myself being lifted from the examination table and after being suspended in air, thrown into a wooden crate quite harshly. I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips.

"_Careful! It's a valuable piece of machinery! DON'T mess it up or Dr. Camerose will. Have. Your. Head."_

"_Y-yes, sir."_

I gradually heard the voices leave and I was soon left in silence. My eyes, still closed, opened, but I couldn't see a thing. Everything was dark and fuzzy, and my head _hurt…_ I reached up to grip my head and when I opened my eyes, my vision slowly began to return to me.

I was in a small crate in a large white room. More crates surrounded me, but they were all mostly empty. I pulled my hands away from my head and a flash of silver caught my attention. Tentatively I looked over at my left arm and screamed.

It was made entirely out of metal.

My right arm was normal and I frantically searched my body finding one eye, half my skull, and parts of my legs and stomach were also made out of metal. Terror seeped into my consciousness when I realized I was no longer human; I spread my wings, finding them not there. Instead, my back had two metallic wings with metal feathers grafted on a metal back.

I screamed again, covering my face with my hands as I broke down. Tears fell from my human eye while the machine one remained unresponsive.

I wasn't human.

I was even _more_ of a freak than before.

I was a… what do you call it? A cyborg.

"_Hey, are you okay?" _a voice asked from beside me. I turned to look at them, seeing a teenager with black hair and green eyes staring at me in concern. Slowly I nodded, noticing another boy in the crate on the other side of the one who spoke.

"_What, what's your name?"_ he asked. I stared at him through my fingers, my mind going blank.

What _was_ my name? Who was I?

Flashed of color came into my vision; I saw a tall blond girl with brown eyes smiling at me and telling me I was her favorite. She felt like my mother, but she was too young to be so.

I saw a teenage guy with dark eyes and dark hair kissing the top of my head as he tucked me into bed.

I saw another teenage boy, but this one had strawberry blond hair and sightless blue eyes. He lit a match and made a bomb.

I saw an African American girl with messy brown hair grabbing my arm and laughing with me over something I couldn't hear. She hugged me and told me things, things I couldn't hear nor could remember, but she was _so_ familiar. I felt a strong kinship with her.

I saw a boy that looked like me. He held my hand as we walked down the streets of… somewhere…

I saw a little black dog, a Scottie, with equally small wings curl up on my lap and fall asleep.

I saw a bear with wings that I instantly picked up and held to my chest.

The blond, motherly girl came back into my vision. She smiled at me and lifted me into her arms, carrying me because I had skinned my knee when I had fallen down. I was crying and she hushed me gently.

"_It's okay, it's only a scratch." _She assured. I sniffed and looked at her.

"_But it hurts!"_ I wailed. She smiled before stooping down to kiss my sore knee and place a band-aid on it. I stopped crying and looked at her. She was still smiling at me and helped me stand.

"_Better?"_

I nodded my head. _"Better."_

She laughed, a sound that was like a familiar melody. _"I love you, Angel."_

"_I love you too, Max."_

I looked at him. "_Angel. My name is Angel."_

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, Angel."_ And then he smiled at me. _"I'm Finn and this is Otto."_

* * *

><p>"So… you're a mutant too?" Ratchet said as he and the rest of Fang's Gang watched Cale shovel food inside his mouth faster than humanly possible. He nodded, a hamburger half hanging out of his mouth, and he took a swig of water before continue to shovel it in. Ratchet and Star shared equal looks of disgust and confusion before Kate cleared her throat and caught their attention.<p>

"Ahem, him being a mutant, I think we should let him join us." The Asian offered. Fang, leaning against the rock wall with his arms crossed over his chest, stayed as stoic as ever. Ratchet and Holden gave each other unsure looks, but Star nodded.

"Sure, why not?" she said.

"'cause we don't know him." Ratchet said. "I mean, he could be part of the Doomsday group or ITEX, or, or—"

"He's one of us; we won't leave him." Fang said from his position on the wall. Ratchet sighed.

"Look, dude, I know he's all bat-like and all, but he could be a spy." He added, tilting his shades to stare at Fang better. Fang's lower lip twitched, preparing to speak, but Cale beat him to it.

"I'm not a spy!" he yelled through a mouthful of food. "Half of my family got kidnapped and I managed to escape from them; now I'm looking for the other half of my family so they can help me rescue them!"

"Oh, boo hoo. So sad. You hear this? It's the world's smallest violin." Maya said as she flew into the entrance of the cave. Cale shot her an angry look, but continued eating.

"We should help him." Kate said sympathetically. Ratchet rolled his eyes and Holden remained silent, fidgeting in his seat.

"No." Ratchet and Maya said at the same time. Cale stood up angrily.

"You know what? I don't need your lousy help. My sister, Eris, is getting help from a group called the flock." Cale said hotly. "She'll help," then he paused and said under his breath, "as soon as I can find her…"

Fang straightened up and moved swiftly over to Cale, grabbing him by the collar of his polo shirt. It startled the bat/human hybrid and he stared into Fang's black eyes in confusion.

"How do you know about the flock?" Fang hissed. Cale gulped.

"M-my brother, Otto, can communicate with his sister Lány telepathically; she said that Eris enlisted the help from some avian hybrid called Iggy and that they were on the way to rescue us." He stammered out. Fang dropped him, stroking his own chin in thought.

"We're going to help you."

Maya sighed exasperatedly, clapping a hand on Fang's shoulder. "Look, Fang, I know you're still in love with Max and all, but you gotta let it _go_. She's with that pretty boy, Dylan."

"Dylan?" Cale said suddenly, his eyes widening. Fang turned to look at Cale.

"Yeah, what about him?"

Cale's face paled. "H-he's dead. It can't be him…" he muttered. Fang stared at the red-head.

"Dylan's dead; the one with the flock is his clone." Fang said. Cale's eyes widened in fear.

"It _can't_ be him, can it?"

Fang walked over to the bat hybrid. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. Cale's mouth went dry as he stared at Fang. Fang's eyes narrowed. "I think you better tell us what's going on."

Slowly, Cale nodded his head, telling the story of his family and their connection with the evil superhuman.

* * *

><p>Dylan gave Max a quick explanation of "he had to go to the bathroom" before slipping away from the rest of the flock. Once he was a safe distance away, he pulled out a transceiver, flipping the switch to turn it on.<p>

"Hello, this is Dylan Camerose. I know the location of the remaining experiments of the _Chiroptera Project_. They are at the visitor center in the King's Peak Mountains."

"_Thank you. Who do you suggest we send?"_

Dylan grinned, his mind going to the three most recently successful experiments: Halter, Grey, and Bix. They were evil, bloodthirsty, and more than adequate enough for the job. They'd kill the younger one, wound the other, and bring her back to the lab for a mind wipe and more experimenting in order to create a perfect vampire.

"Send Halter and her crew; they'll get the job done." He said.

"_Understood. Dr. Camerose shall be notified and Halter's crew will be sent out immediately. Thank you for your information."_

"Any time, Joe, any time."

Dylan shut of the transceiver, slipped it into his bag, and began his walk back to Max and the flock. His grin still remained even as Max kissed him and asked him to help her set up a fire and food.

"_All in due time my mother's plans will be complete…"_ he thought. Max handed him a plate of canned chicken which he thanked her for.

The entire time, Iggy's eyes were trained on him, wondering what was so off with the newest edition of their flock. Something wasn't right about Dylan, but Iggy _just_ couldn't place what it was.

"Ig, you okay?" Gazzy asked from his right. Iggy turned his head to give his best friend a smile.

"Yeah, Gaz, I'm fine. Just ready to go help my friend, I guess."


	5. Chapter 4: A Dangerous Encounter

**Eris: Ooh... things are about to heat up _even more_ in this chapter. **

**Iggy: Yeah... well, I want a sandwhich. Where do you keep the bread?**

**Eris: Um, it's either in the refrigerator or the pantry.**

**Iggy: The _refrigerator_! _Who_ keeps _bread_ in the _refrigerator_?**

**Eris: I do. Now, can we get back on track with the whole introducing-the-story gig?**

**Iggy: *grumbles* Fine...**

**Eris *smiles* Great! So, anyway, I would enjoy reviews, they're not needed, and I hope you enjoy the story. Eris finally connects with the flock, and is there going to be hell to pay when she meets Dylan? Hehehe... _I_ think so. Oh yeah, and that little robat bat named Sparrow has kind of disappeared, but never fear! He shall return by chapter 5 or 6! It's important having him not there.**

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong>** Dylan is curently chained up in my brand new cellar. Jimmy Pat (unfortunately) owns Maximum Ride, but I own everyone else.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4: A Dangerous Encounter<span>**

Deep breaths. In, and out.

Run; run till you're flying.

Deep breaths. In, and out.

I jogged up the small mountain slope that allowed for daring climbers to test theirs skills. Of course, they all wore harnesses and used ropes, but me? I'm all natural. Having wings gives one a better chance of _not_ dying while running almost straight up a cliff.

Though, if I don't get back soon, people are going to start freaking out when they see a teenage girl with white hair and a crazed look in her eye scaling a cliff barehanded. Or _running_, actually.

Meh, whatever.

"Eris!" Lány called, staring down at me from above. I gave her a crooked grin before jumping, spreading my arms, and flying up to meet her.

"How can I help you?"

"I think those people you asked help from are here. These people came over to me and asked for you, so…"

My eyes brightened and I tucked my wings against my body as I rushed into the mostly empty visitor center. It had been three days, so I was expecting the flock soon. Thank _god_ they were actually coming; I don't think I could've rescued my family and made it out alive all by myself.

I ran into the building, scanning the room for a familiar pair of gray-blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. Instead, I was met with a short, smiling girl with cherry red hair and glowing green eyes. She waved and walked over to me.

"Hi; you must be Eris. Iggy's told me _so_ much about you." She stated, holding her hand out, waiting for me to shake it. Lány stood behind me, peering at the strange girl in front of us.

"Not to be rude, but who are you?" I asked warily. The girl giggled and lowered her hand.

"Oh, so sorry! How rude of me. I'm Max, the leader of the Flock." She motioned behind her and a short boy with black hair, friendly gray eyes, and a slightly pudgy disposition appeared along with an Asian girl with black hair and a blue streak through it. "This is Gazzy and Nudge. Dylan and Iggy are both almost here; they had to stop and… pick up a few things."

I cringed at the name Dylan, but knew it couldn't be the same person. This Dylan had wings and I had killed the other Dylan. But it was still hard to hear that name.

"Nice to finally meet you." I responded. "So, when will they get here?"

Max laughed and waved a hand in the air. "They told us to go on ahead; they'd meet up with us in the next town."

I nodded hesitantly and Lány gripped my shirt.

"So, should we take off here, or—"

"NO!" Max shouted. I took a step back in surprise while she composed herself and gave me a tight smile. "I mean, showing our wings in public could attract unwanted attention. Once we reach the next town and meet up with the others, we can figure everything else out." She amended. I watched her warily and nodded.

"Alright. Let's get going."

Max grinned. "Yes, let's."

I don't know what it was, but something about this ginger had me feeling like a mouse trapped by a tiger. I gave her a tight smile, grabbed Lány's hand and followed behind the three members of the flock. I glanced up as the sun cast shadows over the land, wondering when Iggy would appear.

Five large birds flying overhead were far in the distance and it made me smile, thinking of my own family.

"Eris? Are you coming?" Max asked as I realized I had slowed my pace. I nodded.

"Yeah; sorry. I got distracted."

Max nodded and motioned for me to pick up the pace. I did so, the small town nearby catching my attention. I glanced up one more time, searching the skies for my bird friend.

_What's taking so long, Iggy…?_

* * *

><p>I glanced over in Max's direction, seeing the outline of her body next to Dylan's. We were close; I had a feeling we were, and with each stroke of my wings, the sense of foreboding I had continued to increase. Something bad was going to happen, I just knew it. I swallowed hard and shouted Max's name. She turned to look at me, tilting her head in response.<p>

"Are we almost there?" I shouted. Max glanced down and then at Dylan who I assume had a map with him. Dylan whispered something to her (I couldn't hear it over the roar of the wind) and then Max turned back to me.

"Dylan says that the mountains should be coming up in a few minutes. Keep your heads up!"

I nodded and squinted at the scenery I could just barely make out. The outline of rocks and cavern walls were mostly visible along with the shapes of moving… things. Not too sure what they were. But a few minutes later, I was able to make out the shape of a building sitting on top of the rocks. I pointed at it.

"Is that the visitor center?" I asked.

"Yeah; it looks like it." Max responded. "Okay, guys! Let's land!" she shouted and we all banked before landing out of the sight of curious eyes.

"So, where do you think she'd be?" Nudge asked, who had been unusually quiet today. "What does she look like? How many other people are with her? Do you think she's actually here? What if it's a trick? I mean, none of us really know her except for Iggy, but he doesn't know her too well either. They've only talked online and seen each other over video chat. Does she really have wings? Is she really a mutant? Are we—"

"NUDGE! My ears are bleeding!" I yelled, covering my ears. More than likely she was grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"Hey, Max, I—" Dylan started to say, but was interrupted by a blood curdling scream, one only able to hear this far away due to our hearing. Max looked at me and we both took off in the direction of the scream with the rest of the flock following behind.

Minus Dylan.

"Where's Dylan?" Max asked. Nudge shrugged.

"He said he was going to wait at the visitor center in case Eris and her friend are there and if they're not, he'll wait there until we show up." the chatterbox explained. Max nodded before turning her attention to the ground, searching for something that would cause a girl to scream like that.

"There!" she shouted, pointing to something I couldn't see. "There's three large figures surrounding a smaller one while another person is bleeding on the ground." She explained. "Let's go!"

We all dove down after Max.

_Wait a second, Eris, we're coming… right after this…_

* * *

><p>Lány and I followed Max through the winds of the small town in complete silence. A sense of foreboding settled over me and something about Max was off. Swallowing hard, I spoke up.<p>

"Uh, Max? Are we almost to where Iggy is?"

She looked over her shoulder at me, a crazed look in her glowing green eyes. She gave me a predatory smiled and nodded. "Yes, we're almost there."

She led us into a dark alley and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled as she moved to stand with the other members of the flock behind us. Lány and I turned to look at her, and if I had ears they would've been lying flat on my head. Max cackled maniacally and I noticed she, Nudge, and Gazzy were all growing in size.

"Sorry to deceive you, but we're not the flock." She said. "I'm Halter, she's Bix, and he's Grey." Lány and I watched in horror as their nails lengthened into lethal knives and their teeth became sharp and dangerous. Their bodies bulged all over and their eyes had the same crazed look in them.

"We'll be killing the little one now." Halter, who I thought was Max, said. She drew her arm back and prepared to strike Lány but I flung myself into her way, taking the blow myself. I yelled in pain as her knife-nail slid into my side and fell to the ground. Halter hissed in disgust before turning her attention to Lány.

"Lány… go…" I gasped. She let out a blood curdling scream and the three monsters crept towards her. She was up against the wall of the alley and shivering in fright. "N-no… stop…" I wheezed. As Halter laughed maniacally and prepared to strike, she was hit in the head by a rocket, or something.

"Leave her alone!" the rocket shouted, which turned out to be a tall girl about my age with brown eyes and dirty blond hair. Oh, and _wings_. Three more kids like her landed beside the winged girl and stood protectively around Lány.

"Iggy, go help the injured girl." The winged girl, probably the leader, ordered. Wait, Iggy?

"Iggy…" I croaked and his eyes widened in shock as he stooped to my level.

"Eris? Oh my god, Eris!" he shouted. He lifted me into his arms and took to the skies. The blond girl, Max I guess, picked up Lány and the rest of the actual flock flew up to join us, leaving three snarling creatures behind.

"Eris, it's okay; we'll fix you up, don't worry." Iggy promised. I slowly began to slip into unconsciousness and heard Lány say,

"Don't die, Eris. You just can't die."

—

I woke to the smell of a fire and cooking food. I sat up quickly, wincing as pain shot up my side. Hands came round my shoulders and gently pushed me back down on the ground.

"Steady, Eris, you're injured." A familiar, masculine voice said. I opened my eyes to see that it was Iggy. I smiled up at him, cupping his cheek with my hand.

"It's really you; it's not a dream." I said slowly. Iggy smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it's not a dream." He agreed. "And neither is the wound on your side, so be careful." He handed me a glass of water and I drank it greedily, due to the rawness of my throat. I'm sure they didn't have any blood, so I'd just have to live with my hunger pains.

"Thanks, Ig." I murmured between gulps of water. He grinned as he watched me, his eyes managing to see very little of what I was doing. After finishing, it was then that I realized there were more people in the cave. I blushed and set the glass down. "Uh, hi."

The girl who had hit Halter like a bullet smiled at me. "Hi, I'm Max. This is Nudge and Gazzy."

Unconsciously I shivered and she gave me a strange look. "Sorry, it's just that before those creatures transformed into hideous beasts, they said they were you." I explained. Max nodded slowly, processing the information. "So," I grunted, shifting into a sitting position, "where's this Dylan guy?"

"Oh, right. Nudge, can you go get him?" she asked the black girl. Nudge nodded, gave me a smile and a wave, and then leaped out of the cave with her tawny wings unfurled.

"Right, so I'm Eris and that's Lány." I introduced. Lány crawled over to sit by me, hugging me around the waist.

"I was afraid you were going to die!" she wailed. I patted her head affectionately.

"I'm fine. I little worse for wear, but I'll live."

"Max! We're back!" Nudge called as she and another person entered the cave.

"Wow, that was quick…" I muttered, shifting once more to get comfortable. I stretched my sore limbs and arched my back like a cat. Lány's breath hitched in her throat and I turned to see what was wrong. I gasped and suddenly saw red.

"_Dylan._" I hissed and launched myself at him, no longer caring about my wounds.


	6. Chapter 5: Loosing Heart

**Eris: Iggy's sleeping right now, so I'm going to introduce this story by myself. I want to thank everyone for the lovely reviews! They've really made my day :) I finished typing this chapter today and decided that I might as well put it up for my lovely readers. **

**Unfortunately, Eris and Dylan's fight isn't in this chapter, but *possibly* the next. **

**And near the end of this chapter (where everything is in italics) is a flashback, just to let you know.**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong>** This story is mine, thought up by me and only me, but the flock and the whole experiment idea thingy is from James Patterson.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 5: Loosing Heart<span>**

As Fang's gang listened to Cale's story, Fang suddenly started seeing red. _His_ family was in danger, and he didn't know where they were or how to find them. The avenging angel gritted his teeth and pounded his fist into the cavern wall, blood pouring from his injured knuckles.

"I _knew_ there was something up with that Dylan guy. I _knew_ there was a reason I didn't like him." Fang growled. Cale wrung his hands together nervously, not quite sure what else to say.

"Um, there is a chance that I'm wrong. I mean, Eris _did_ kill him." Cale assured. Fang turned his angry dark eyes to the red-headed bat hybrid.

"Yeah, but maybe this 'Dr. Camerose' person made a clone of him! The Dylan with the flock _is_ a clone." he shouted. Cale bit his tongue, out of words. Maya watched Fang with a mix of amusement and pity.

"Look, bird-brain, when I was working for ITEX there was some big hush-hush project going on. Dr. Camerose sounds familiar; maybe that was the doctor in charge of everything." She added. Fang turned his attention to her and she shrugged. "Besides, it's not really your problem anyway. Your precious flock don't want you to be a part of them anymore, remember? _You_ did the leaving, not Max."

Fang flinched involuntarily earning a smirk of triumph from Maya. He looked away. "Don't tell me what I can or can't do."

"So, do you love this Max chick, or what?" Ratchet spoke up. Fang simply glared at him, not answering his question. Ratchet sighed.

"If you have feelings for her, you should make them known. That way, there's no more confusion between the two of you." Kate piped in. Fang remained silent.

"Look, Fang, if you like her, tell her! Explain your reasoning for leaving and—" Star started but Fang interrupted her.

"I don't need any of you telling me what to do with my love life. None of you understand, believe me."

Cale scoffed. "Really? Well, me and Eris had a heart-to-heart once; she was in love with Maxx, our Maxx, and watched him die in front of her." He said. "Well, sure she killed his murderer, but you don't have it half as bad as she does. She told me that she wished she could go back in time and tell him how she truly felt. Dude, don't wait to tell your Max how you feel until it's too late; you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Silence fell over the gathering of mutants until Star whistled. "Wow that was deep."

Fang gave her a look and Cale spread his arms, allowing his wings to spread as well.

"I gotta go find my family now. Bye and thanks for the food!" he said with a smile. "Oh, and Fang, I wish you luck."

"Hold it, Cale." Star said, grabbing his wrist. "We're gonna help you. Fang is determined to save his love, so it's kinda un-negotiable."

Cale grinned. "Thanks guys."

"Well, I won't like it, but Fang's in charge here, not me." Ratchet said with a sigh. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"<em>Angel, where are you from?" <em>Finn asked me.

"_I have a family who probably think that I'm dead who also have wings like me. I don't know where they are and they probably won't come for me either…"_ I said sadly, feeling tears come to my human eye. I turned to look at him, my machine eye casting an eerie glow in the dark.

"_Why wouldn't they?"_

"_They don't know I'm here or that I'm even alive."_ I replied. Finn gave me a sympathetic look, reaching through the bars of his cage to stroke my hair with his finger, the only thing that could touch me due to the distance. I gave him what I could of a smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"_When Otto and I get out of here, we'll take you with us. We'll help you find your family, I promise."_

"_But… they'll think I'm scary 'cause of the way I look. What if they don't want me to be with them?" _

Finn smiled at me. _"I have a friend who is like me, bat wings and all, but she can't eat human food; she can only digest blood and water."_ Finn explained. I grimaced at the thought of only being able to eat blood; it was kind of disgusting. _"She didn't understand how we could still care about her despite being a 'monster', as she said. Sure, she was different, but we still love her and will always care and look out for her no matter the circumstances."_

"_You think my family feels the same way?"_

Finn nodded his head. _"If they truly love you, they won't care about what's changed; they'll love you no matter what. Personally, I think they'd be relieved that you're still alive."_

I smiled at him, unable to hold in my happiness. If I could hug him, I would. _"Thank you, Finn. That really helped me."_

Before he could respond, however, the door was thrown open and several whitecoats walked in. I cringed into the back of my cage as they walked by, but they only glanced in my direction before turning to look at Finn.

"_Is this the one to be used for breeding with VP01?" _

"_If Halter's crew succeeded, which they hopefully did, we want to be able to increase experiment VP01's gene pool. Maybe after several attempts we will create the perfect being."_

"_Reproduce!"_ Finn repeated in shock. _"You have Eris? How did you catch her!"_

One of the whitecoats turned to look at him uninterestedly. _"We haven't caught her yet, but we've sent out others to capture her. The experiment with her and the other one beside you," _he motioned to Otto, _"will be eliminated."_

Otto whimpered in his cage, pushing himself as far away from the entrance as possible. Finn glared at the whitecoats, fury in his green eyes.

"_You won't touch; if you do, I'll—"_

The whitecoat speaking to him laughed, cutting him off. _"You'll what? What can you do to us when you're in a dog crate?" _he asked. Finn gritted his teeth and fell silent. _"Don't worry; your little 'friend' over there won't be disposed of until experiment VP01 arrives. This, if Halter's crew succeeded, will be momentarily." _

He cackled insanely before turning to leave. Three superhumans lifted Finn's cage onto a trolley and began carting him away. I gave him a panicked look and Finn tried to give me a reassuring smile as he gripped the bars of his cage.

"_I'll be back, Angel, don't worry."_

"_Don't die, Finn…"_

"_We won't kill him. We need him." _A whitecoat said. _"We'll be back for you later."_

I whimpered and scooted back, looking over at Otto who felt my terror. He might have been older than me, but we both knew the horrors of the whitecoats and what laid in store for us.

At least Otto and Finn had their family coming for them…

* * *

><p>"Failed! You <em>failed!<em>" Dr. Camerose shrieked angrily. "How _dare _you show your miserable faces here again! Do you think I give _mercy_? No! Guard!" she snapped and a superhuman came closer. "Take these three and have them retired, _permanently_!"

"Wait, please! We promise we won't mess up again, don't kill us! IT WAS ONLY ONE MISTAKE!"Halter's shouts were continued to be heard all the way down the hallway and Dr. Camerose pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Is it really so hard to get some decent help around here?" she asked rhetorically. "Is my son _really_ the only one capable of handling this job?"

"Dr. Camerose?" a whitecoat tentatively called as he entered the room.

"WHAT!" she shrieked. The whitecoat cringed back as she breathed heavily.

"Um, what would you like us to do with experiments F3351b and T6712y?" he stammered. Dr. Camerose composed herself quickly and took several much needed deep breaths.

"Keep experiment F3351b ready; I'll send out another retrieval crew for experiment VP01 and I need him ready for when she arrives." She cut off, thinking, before sighing and waving a hand in the air dismissively. "Concerning experiment T6712y, frankly I don't give a damn."

The other whitecoat nodded and retreated from Dr. Camerose's lab. She sighed as she fell into her chair, touching her hand to her forehead.

"After all this careful planning, those _idiotic_ avian/human hybrids just might _ruin_ everything. Saltun!"

A short, pudgy man wearing a white lab coat scurried into the room at the call of his name. He bowed reverently before Dr. Camerose, as if she were his goddess.

"Yes, madam?"

Dr. Camerose grinned wickedly. "Get my son on the phone."

* * *

><p>"<em>Jessica, darling, please stop biting your brother." <em>

_A little girl with golden hair and baby blue eyes looked up at her mother and pouted. "But, Mommy, Mark took my toy!" she wined, trying to justify her actions. Her mother, a woman with the same golden hair and deep mocha eyes steeled her face and scowled at her innocent looking daughter. _

"_Jessica, that does not give you a right to bite him. Now, if you're going to cause problems inside, go play outside." Her mother ordered, pointing her finger at the door. Jessica's head drooped as she slowly marched out of the house. Jessica's mother sighed before kissing the top of her daughter's head. "I still love you; be safe."_

_Jessica nodded and left a bit more cheerfully. _

_The six-year-old child sat in the sandbox in the front yard playing with a toy truck and a Barbie doll. "And now, Miss Angelica with ride the car all the way to the mall and buy lots and lots of hair stuff!" she shouted, attempting to shove the head of the Barbie doll into the toy car. "Why. Won't. It. Fit!" _

_A large black van pulled up on the curb next to Jessica's house and a strange man came out. Jessica stared at him curiously, watching as he pulled out a syringe. _

"_Um, mister, what are you doing with that?" _

_He chuckled, stooping down so that he was eye-level with the little girl. "Don't scream or this'll only be harder." He instructed, grabbing her wrist. _

"_Hey, let go of me!" she shouted, struggling to get away from the strange man holding her wrist. "Stop, leave me alone! MOMMY!" _

"_Stop struggling!" he ordered, shoving the needle into her arm and injecting the fluid into her. The fight slowly died out of her and the last thing Jessica could remember was being carried into the van and seeing her mother run out of the house panic-stricken._

—

_Pain… there was so much _pain_! Jessica cried out in complete agony as she came to. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was strapped to a metal bed and several men wearing white lab coats were injecting her with things that _hurt_. She screamed again and got backhanded._

"_Shut it up." one of the scientists ordered. A different man injected something into the IV on her wrist, causing her mouth to feel dry and numb. As someone took a knife and began cutting into her stomach she tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. Tears fell silently down her face as everything began to go dark. _

"_Don't let it die."_

_Someone injected something else into her head and the little girl slipped into unconsciousness, sharp, agonizing pain coursing through her small body. _

_As Jessica came to once more, she found that she was now in a small dog crate in a large white room. She glanced around in fear, hugging her arms around her legs. Something was hanging from her arms, something leathery and strange. She touched it and then tried to pull it off, but it _hurt_ trying to remove it._

"_What is this?" she asked rhetorically as tears began to fall once more. She was scared and… _very_ hungry. She brushed her hair out of her face, but the color was odd. She lifted several strands so she could see them and jolted in shock._

_It was snow white!_

_As the little girl contemplated what had happened, the door opened and in walked four scientists. _

"_Feed it, see how it responds." One said and another slid a bag full of red liquid into Jessica's crate. Her stomach lurched hungrily and she found herself diving for the bag, tearing into it and drinking the strange liquid. It tasted so, so_ good_ that Jessica couldn't even describe the feeling. _

"_Interesting… experiment VP01 seems to be adjusting well." _

_And without another word, the scientists left. _

_Jessica watched them leave with terrified eyes, not sure where she was or what they were doing with her. What was experiment VP01? As she contemplated it and what the strange liquid was, she licked her lips, cutting her tongue on one of her teeth._

"_Ow!" she yelped. Tentatively she reached into her mouth to feel her teeth and noticed she had tiny, razor sharp fangs. Now she was even more scared and confused than before. What was going on? _

_Someone else entered the room pushing a trolley. The looked different than the scientists; they had emotionless eyes and were dressed in a black shirt and black slacks. They lifted her crate effortlessly onto the trolley and began carting her to god knows where._

"_Where are you taking me?" Jessica asked fearfully. "What's going on? I want my mommy!"_

_The man kicked her crate. "Soon you shall know that speaking will only make this all more difficult." He said cryptically. Tears fell from the small child's eyes and silence reverberated through the empty hallways. They passed one room where there was a large glass window and Jessica saw a tall, very beautiful man transform into a wolf. She pushed herself further back into her crate when she saw the wolf-man tear a poor chimpanzee to shreds. The little girl started to cry in fear as they entered another lab room._

_In the lab, Jessica finally got to meet the woman responsible for destroying her live; she was the most evil, the most vial, and the cruelest woman ever to walk the face of planet earth, a truly satanic woman:_

_Annie Camerose._


	7. Chapter 6: Insanity

**Eris: And, here it is! The wrap up of the flashback and the long awaited Dylan/Eirs scene! How will our heroine react to seeing the man who ruined her life? Well, folks, think only get worse for her from here.**

**Iggy: Sorry about missing last chapter. Eris kept me up all night the day before with her incessant typing.**

**Eris: hehe... I wanted to be able to get out another chapter soon! I'm so happy for my reviews :D They make me smile. **

**Iggy: *groan* That means another _long_ night for me...**

**Eris: Yeah, but you inspire me, Pumpkin!**

**Iggy: *flinches* Never. Again.**

**Eris: But—**

**Iggy: NEVER. AGAIN.**

**Eris: *grumbles* Fine... Here's the next chapter...**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong>** James Patterson has finally lost his mind and written FAX out of the book series. I, fortunately, am bringing it back. (That, and "sexy" too)**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 6: Insanity<span>**

_The days had all just melted together. The little girl had slowly lost memory of her family, her parents, her name, and she had also lost all hope of ever escaping the hellhole. Everyday they would come for her. If she obeyed and did things willingly, she was given a day of rest._

_But only one._

_While listening to the labcoats as they observed her and experimented on her, the little girl had learned that she was no longer human; she was part bat, part _Diaemus youngi_, or White-winged Vampire bat. She had lost 10% of her humanity in exchange for wings, super-sight, super-hearing, and an unholy thirst for blood._

_She also learned that the scientists had made a mistake while experimenting on her. They intended to turn her into a mythical monster of the night, a vampire, but they used too much bat DNA and she ended up (accidentally) with bat wings as well. The scientists decided to scrap the whole project and focus on a different route. _

_Vampires weren't successful, but _bats_ were._

_The young bat-human hybrid knew she had been kidnapped years ago. Her hair had grown longer and she had begun to slowly realize that either her cage was shrinking or her body was growing. Several days after her epiphany, she learned it had been three years. _

_One day after a semi-rigorous training day, a boy slightly older than her was dragged in and thrown into her crate. He had dark brown hair and a smooth angelic face._

"_Perhaps it'll eat him." One of the scientists leered as they both walked out. _

_The little girl tentatively watched the unconscious boy, not quite sure about what to do with him. About an hour after his arrival, he slowly began to wake up. When his eyes opened, she saw they were a stunning blue like hers used to be. _

"_Who are you?" the little girl asked. He stared at her._

"_Um, my name is Maverick, but everyone calls me Maxx. Not M-A-X, but with two 'X's, M-A-X-X." He answered. "What about you?"_

_The bat-human hybrid blushed in embarrassment. "I, I don't remember." _

"_How about I give you a name then?" _

_Slowly she nodded, not quite sure what would be an appropriate response. She hadn't interacted with a human for three years. _

"_How does 'Eris' sound?"_

_Eris… the little white haired girl thought about it, feeling the name seem to stick to her. It fit, in some way._

"_Why did you pick that name?" she asked. Maxx shrugged._

"_Eris was the Greek goddess of chaos, and when I saw how beautiful you were, like a goddess, and yet how broken, it seemed to fit you." Maxx answered. The girl slowly nodded, giving him a tentative smile._

"_You're right; Eris fits." _

_Maxx held out a hand and she stared at it. "You're supposed to shake it." _

"_Oh…" _

_Eris reached out to grip his hand and the other child shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Eris."_

_Eris nodded with a slightly larger smile. "Nice to meet you, Double X." _

—

_Eris and Maxx became fast friends, but one thing about him slightly startled her at first._

_He was still human._

_It wasn't until a week and a half later that he came back with pitch black eyes and the tips of his hair snow white. Eris thought it was only dyed at first, but as time went on, it never changed. Several days later, he came back with wings similar to hers, only his were brown while hers were white. _

_It was then that Eris realized he wasn't human anymore either. _

_They moved Maxx to a different crate for fear of Eris "eating" him. She didn't understand why they thought that, until she remembered she could only eat blood. It was after they moved him she remembered her name: Jessica Anne Miller. However, Eris didn't want to tell Maxx that she remembered. She wanted to have the name he gave her. _

_During the next year, four others were brought in. None of them wanted their given names, so they all renamed themselves: Finn, Cale, Plasy, and Grim. Six months afterwards, Plasy and Grim died during their experimenting. Lány, Otto, and Inca came in not too long after that, but Inca committed suicide to escape her transformation. _

_The remaining six bat hybrids soon formed a close bond, the oldest, Maxx, being fourteen at the time. He was soon known as their leader, not only because he was the oldest, but because he was the one who raised their spirits and kept them strong. Even though their real names soon fled from them, they all held on to their new names and the friendship it represented. _

_Eris still remembered her name, however._

_Everyday, Maxx promised that they'd be free soon. He didn't know when, he didn't know how, but they would be. He told them that while on his way for more tests, he overheard some of the scientists talking about six avian-human hybrids who just recently escaped the facility in California. He believed that they'd be able to do the same and soon. _

_Eris, as she watched Maxx mature and change before her, slowly found herself feeling strange when he looked at her. Despite being twelve and quite naïve for her lack of education, she knew what that strange feeling fluttering in her stomach was. Her mother had told her once when she was younger._

_It was love. _

* * *

><p>My fangs were bared as I lunged, bloodlust filling my every core and a vicious roar escaped my lips. I grabbed Dylan by the throat, choking him as my body propelled us out of the cave entrance. I ignored the shouts of horror and surprise from the flock as we fell in midair.<p>

Fortunately, the cave was a good several hundred feet or so feet from the ground. I flipped my body around and elbowed him in the stomach with all my might. I tore at his wings when he tried to extend them, eliciting a shout of pain from the evil creature. I threw his head back and tore into his throat, blood spraying everywhere as he scrambled to get away from me.

But he couldn't.

I was a predator, and he was my prey. Vampire bats preyed on birds, something I had learned from a book on bats, and I refused to let this evil incarnate destroy what sanity I had left. Laughing maniacally, I grabbed his head with both of my hands, preparing to tear it off. He stiffened, remembering what had occurred two years ago.

"This is for Maxx and Finn and Otto and Lány and everyone else's lives you ruined!" I shouted, getting ready to twist. This was it. I was going to kill him, again, for all the hell he had put me and my family through. I didn't believe it could be the same Dylan from so long ago, but it was. I remembered.

Before I could finish what I had tried to accomplish, I was hit head on by a bullet with brown/white wings and a mop of blond hair.

"LET GO OF MY BOYFRIEND!" Max shouted, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking me off of him. She added a nicely planned roundhouse kick to my side as well. Nudge and her grabbed each of Dylan's arms and supported his weight between the two of them as they landed. Gasping for air, I released my wings and landed in a heap on the ground. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rocked back in forth like some insane person.

Who knows? Perhaps I _was_ loosing my mind.

Max quickly checked over Dylan's wounds before stomping over to me and slapping me across the face harshly. I yelped in pain, reeling back from her hit.

"How _dare_ you!" she shouted. "I bring my family to help you, then we _save_ you from _dying_, and you repay us by attacking and almost _killing_ one of my flock?"

I stared laughing, even as the rest of the flock and Lány landed and the handprint on my face began to sting. Everyone stared at me, a mix of horror, confusion, and pity. I raised a finger and pointed at Dylan as he slowly sat up coughing.

"You don't know what he is, do you?" I asked, something about the whole ordeal seeming funny. I covered my face with my hands, attempting to smother the giggles to no avail. I felt Lány wrap her arms around me as tears slid down my face into her shirt. "What's happening to me?" I whispered. Lány, our ever brainy one, answered me.

"Seeing someone, who greatly influenced your life, so suddenly made something in your mind snap, causing temporary insanity." She explained. "I don't know how long it'll last, but you need to just relax because the insanity works like a drug; you won't feel pain and you'll feel invincible."

She was right; I couldn't even feel the pain in my side anymore.

"What the heck are you taking about?" Max demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. I began laughing again at how stupid she was for not realizing she had a monster within her midst.

Not like I was one to talk.

"Dylan is the one who killed our Maxx, the leader of our Colony. He tried to stop us as we escaped the ITEX facility we were stationed at and he's also the son of the scientist who made all of us bat-human hybrids the way we are." Lány explained. All the flock's eyes swiveled to Dylan. "Eris, in revenge, killed him, so I don't know how he's still here."

"He's— he's a clone…" Nudge muttered, the shortest sentence ever uttered and I began laughing again. I slowly pulled myself to my feet, still laughing like a maniac, and walked closer, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. She flinched and I laughed harder.

"Ha ha! You _idiots_! He's gonna kill you… he's gonna kill you… Just like he did Maxx. And then he's gonna ruin your lives like he did ours. Ha ha, he's alive. He's _alive_! A clone, how quaint. Ha ha…"

"She's loosing it…" Gazzy muttered and my crazed filled eyes turned to him.

"SHE'S LOOSING IT! HA HA HA!" I repeated, only louder. Lány grabbed my shoulder, pressing a nerve and causing my legs to buckle. I fell, hitting my head on the ground in the process, successfully knocking myself out.

Ha ha…

Bread's in the butter… the clock's not _ticking_ anymore… Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Ha ha…

* * *

><p>"Is she going to be okay?" Nudge asked as Lány adjusted her "sister's" position. The brunette nodded.<p>

"Yeah; some sleep should help her too." She glanced warily at Dylan, now sporting a bandaged neck. "The shock caused her to go insane, which I hope is only temporary."

"What exactly did Dylan do? He's been with us for a while and is one of the nicest people I know. He wouldn't do that stuff." Max defended, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, you see, two years ago there were six of us bat hybrids. Our leader was Maxx, or Double X, and he was killed by a boy who looked exactly like your Dylan and had the same name. You said your Dylan is actually a clone?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't remember much about his previous 'life', if you could call it that." she explained. "He knows he died in an accident, but I guess your friend was the one who killed him… Was he that bad?"

"Yes, he was the son of the scientist who created us and he tried to stop us from escaping ITEX several years ago. He didn't have wings at that time, but he was supposed to get them if we didn't escape, or something like that." Lány said. She looked at Dylan again who know had his head in his hands.

"I did that?" he whispered brokenly.

"If this Dylan truly doesn't remember what his counterpart did, then I guess we shouldn't have to worry about him repeating his previous deeds." Lány continued. Dylan looked at her and smiled.

"I am _so_ sorry for what I did to you. I honestly don't remember and I wish I could take back all of the horrors I did to you." He apologized. Lány nodded curtly, something about him still seeming dangerous. Iggy picked up on her discomfort and went to help the younger girl lift Eris.

"Let's get back into the cave." The blind pyro suggested. "And keep Dylan as far away from her as possible."

Even at Dylan's seemingly sincere change, Lány wasn't sure what to make of him. What if it was all an act? What if he suddenly remembered and turned on everyone?

And more importantly, how did that Halter chick know where they were?

Darkness was beginning to fall and the last thing Lány remembered before drifting off to sleep was hearing a beeping noise and seeing a looming silhouette soar out of the cave, a sadistic smirk on his handsome features. Lány wasn't sure if it was a dream or reality, sticking to believing it as illusion to keep her mind from slipping into insanity as Eris did.


	8. Chapter 7: A Meeting in the Woods

**Eris: So sorry about the long wait. I've been busy with all of the work high school throws at me. APUSH is killer. I am failing the class at the moment :)**

**Iggy: O_o I don't think that's a good thing, E...**

**Eris: -_- Really? *sarcasm***

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><p><strong><span>DISCLAIMER:<span> February 2nd is when the actual eighth book comes out. Maybe I'll have this done by then...? Oh, and the movie is coming in 2013. Kristen Stewart is *possibly* playing Max, which has me super mad.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 7: A Meeting in the Woods<span>**

"Meow…" the mechanical cat noise came from an oddly shaped metal bat flying down the corridors of the secret ITEX facility. It flew awkwardly from door to door, using infrared to search for its creator.

Well, _one_ of them.

The bat picked up on two and a half warm-blooded creatures stationed in one of the containment cells, room 42B. It made quick work of the lock and flew into the room, landing on top of one of the cages and causing a loud bang to resound throughout the room.

"Me-ow." Sparrow purred, catching the attention of the cage's inhabitant.

"Sparrow?" Otto asked incredulously. The robotic bat answered by sliding into the bat-human hybrid's crate and cuddling up under his chin. Sparrow began to purr again. Otto grinned and stroked its silver, metal body with his index and middle finger. "Did Lány send you?"

Sparrow quacked like a duck before opening its mouth to reveal a small screen. The screen flickered to life and revealed the face of his twin: Lány. She looked weary and shoved a chunk of brown hair behind her ear. The two made eye contact and her voice filtered into his head.

"_Stay quiet. Others might hear you."_

Otto nodded once, glancing around for any spectators. Besides Angel, that is.

"_Eris and I are coming. We have help from Max's Flock."_

"_Who is Max's Flock? You told me you were getting their help before, but who are they exactly?" _

"_Eris knows them. I'm not sure about much else."_

Otto nodded again, barely perceptible. _"Cale escaped. He's out looking for you and Eris."_

Surprise flashed over her features as she watched her brother. _"We didn't know that."_ she said. The camera shifted to show an unconscious Eris lying on the floor of a cave. _"Eris is… going insane."_

"_What happened?"_

Lány sighed and the view returned to her face. _"Do you remember Dylan? The one who killed Maxx and who Eris killed in return?" _she 's blood ran cold at the mention of Dylan. He had been their living nightmare for the time they had been held captive at one of the ITEX experimentation facilities.

"_Well, he has a clone and that clone is traveling with Max and her flock."_

"_I-I can see why E lost her mind."_

Lány nodded. _"I hope she stays unconscious until we work this all out."_ She smiled sadly at him. _"We'll talk later."_

"_Oh, Lány," _Otto said before his twin could end their conversation. _"Double X is back."_

"_Maxx? As in, our leader Dylan killed?" _she asked. Otto nodded.

"_He's alive and he's __**not**__ on our side anymore. He's working for Dr. Camerose."_

All the color drained from Lány's face at Otto's new information. _"Are you positive?" _

"_Yes. Someone reanimated him and severely altered his perspective. He's most definitely working for ITEX now."_

"_Don't tell Eris." _Lány warned. _"I won't tell her either."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Eris is loosing her mind; if we tell her Double X is alive and out to kill us all, she might snap and fall even further into insanity than she already is. Her mind will have no hope of repair then."_

"_So, we're just going to let her find out on her own?" _he accused. Lány nodded, her face grim.

"_Eris' mind is very fragile at the moment. Give her time to recover from the shock of Dylan being alive." _She explained. Otto nodded slowly; he still wasn't all for keeping Eris in the dark about Maxx's alive-ness. _"If you need to contact me, press—"_

"…_the red button on Sparrow's stomach."_ He grinned at the image of his sister. _"Don't worry, sis; I got it."_

She smiled at him, tears threatening to spill from her sky blue eyes. She wiped at her face, forcing the tears to disperse. _"I love you, Otto. Don't die on me." _

Otto smiled sadly as the image of his sister faded. _"I won't, Lány; don't worry."_

Sparrow closed his mouth and moved to curl up in the corner of Otto's cage. Otto turned to glance at a sleeping Angel, his heart clenching at the sight of her. She was so young…

The door crashed open, waking Angel, and a scientist walked in followed by a superhuman pushing a trolley. On the trolley was a cage: Finn. He looked a little worse for wear, but he was alive. Otto let out a sigh of relief; Finn was still alive, but that also probably meant the scientists weren't too happy about not having captured Eris.

The superhuman grabbed Otto's crate and pushed him next to Angel before putting Finn's cage in the spot Otto's occupied seconds earlier. Finn groaned and sat up as the scientist and superhuman left the room. Sparrow chirped like a chickadee, catching Finn's attention.

"What's that?" he asked, his voice nothing more than a whisper. Otto shifted so Finn could get a better view of Sparrow.

"A way to see Eris and Lány." He mouthed, just in case anyone could hear them or was listening. Finn nodded and grunted as he shifted positions. "Are you alright?"

Finn nodded and Otto noticed that his black hair was matted with blood near the back of his head. "More or less. I'll be fine, Otto."

Otto nodded slowly, still not convinced. Angel tapped Otto's shoulder through the bars of their cages, catching his attention.

"_Are those people coming to rescue you?"_ she asked telepathically. Otto jumped, surprised.

"_You can speak with your mind?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I can only mind speak with my twin sister." _

Angel smiled, causing the older boy's heart to clench painfully. She was so young, so small, yet ITEX had altered her so drastically that she had no hope of ever living normally. One of her eyes glowed red and Otto could faintly see the line that connected her real skin to where the scientists had grafted synthetic human skin over her face. The rest of the metal her body was made up of was uncovered, showing a thick, metal network of functioning limbs, alternating between being flesh and machine. She was only seven or eight with lovely curly golden hair and one bright baby blue eye. Even though she was younger and looked nothing like Otto's twin sister, he couldn't help but feel a strong, brotherly, protective instinct take over.

"_Angel, you're coming with us when we get out of here."_ Otto promised, reiterating Finn's words from earlier. Angel nodded and soft snores soon came from a sleeping Sparrow.

"_Thank you, Otto." _She said, tears falling from her human eye. The door banged open for a second time in the past five minutes and in walked an all-too-familiar scientist in a white lab coat: Dr. Annie Camerose, Dylan's mother and the scientist who created Otto and his Colony. She walked over to Angel's crate and crouched down in front of the little girl as she cowered in the back of her cage.

"Subject 11, such a small thing, but full of so much knowledge." She commented, running her fingers over the bars of Angel's cage. "Our greatest achievement… Such a pity it was so badly damaged in the explosion, though."

"Shall we make sure it is functioning correctly, Dr. Camerose?" one of the scientists flanking her asked. Dr. Camerose stood and nodded.

"Don't touch her." Finn hissed. Dr. Camerose grinned at him.

"Well, if it isn't my _favorite_ little bat-boy. Welcome back, F3351b. So sorry that we had to return you to this room, but we're running low on space." She sneered. Finn growled low in his throat, causing the cruel woman to laugh. "Don't start barking at me now, boy."

Two superhumans walked through the doors and pulled Angel from her crate. She kicked and screamed as they dragged her away; one of the scientists finally resorted to sedating her in order to transport her more easily.

"You're a monster." Finn growled out. Dr. Camerose simply yawned and stared at him uninterestedly.

"So I've been told." She spun on her heels, her white lab coat fluttering around her legs. She paused just before exiting and glanced at Finn out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, and I wanted to let you know that you're about to experience a little 'family reunion'. We know where the rest of your group is and we're tracking them now. They'll be here within the next few days."

Otto reached for Sparrow and clutched it tightly causing the robot to squeak like a mouse. Dr. Camerose either didn't hear it or didn't care.

"Enjoy your stay in Hell on earth, children."

And the insane doctor cackled maniacally as she slammed the door shut behind her. Otto shivered and turned terror filled eyes to his leader. Finn managed a smile, but his eyes betrayed the worry he truly felt.

"We'll be alright, Otto. I know we will."

"But how do you know?"

Finn shrugged. "Eris is smart. She can do it."

Otto nodded slowly. Eris was strong; she would rescue them, no matter what. Even if she got hurt and even if she was loosing her grip on sanity, she would fight to rescue them.

And that scared Otto most of all.

* * *

><p>Fang was walking ahead of their group, his steps deliberate and choppy. He was so tense; tenser than his group had ever seen him as before. They had never seen him so agitated and it startled them greatly. Cale walked between Holden and Star, not sure how to handle the other mutant's distress.<p>

"I still can't believe that there is an insane, murderous son of an insane scientist traveling with my family." He muttered angrily. Cale bit his tongue, not sure what exactly to say.

"They're not your family anymore, Fang. Ergo, not your problem." Maya added. She was ignored.

"Well," Cale rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "as I said earlier, there's a chance it's not the same person. It's just that everything is too coincidental for me not to be paranoid about the whole set-up."

Silence hung over Fang's Gang as they digested the information. Ratchet was even out of things to say. He walked quietly beside Kate with his head down and hands shoved into his pockets, the sun glinting off of his sunglasses.

"So, Max's Flock and your Family are working together?" Fang asked, breaking the silence.

"Eris was getting their help; I'm not sure if they are or not at the moment."

"Knowing Max, she's probably helping them."

"What's the battle plan, oh fearless leader?" Ratchet asked. Fang glanced at him, but before he could speak Maya cut in.

"Half of Cale's family is in an ITEX branch somewhere while the other half is traveling with Max's flock and an insane murderer. They're headed to rescue the other half of Cale's family, so it would only make sense to find the captured one." She said. Star nodded, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"We'll end up running into Max's Flock that way, right?"

Fang nodded and Maya looked smug.

Cale glanced around, seeing nothing but barren land for miles. "Um, are we walking?" he asked, glancing up at the sky. It was now dusk and the sun cast a pinkish hue over the sky. Cale was suddenly hit with a sense of foreboding; things weren't going to be as easy as the plan made them sound.

"Yeah." Maya said with a snort. Cale gave her a sour look, but didn't comment on her rude behavior. Fang continued on in the lead as the rest of the misfit band of mutants walked in a cluster behind him.

"We need information; the closest ITEX facility is about ten miles away." Fang explained. "We need to get a car to travel more quickly."

"Do you know how to hotwire?" Cale asked. Fang smirked at the bat-human hybrid who had short red hair.

"I have a bit of experience in that field."

Cale repressed a shudder. Something about the avian-human driving made him feel _very_ uncomfortable.

* * *

><p>Iggy sat next to a still unconscious Eris as darkness fell over the valley. He was <em>really<em> concerned for her; she had hit her head pretty hard when she fell and the fact that she went momentarily insane earlier had him worried.

"How is she?" Lány asked as she took a seat next to Iggy. He sighed and shook his head.

"I have no idea. She's still unconscious, but she's breathing so I guess that's a good sign."

Lány nodded and slipped her hand into Eris'. The older girl groaned and shifted, but she didn't wake up. Lány stroked Eris' snowy white hair, smoothing it away from her sweat covered face. However, when her hand came in contact with Eris' forehead, Lány reeled back as if burned.

"She's burning up." Lány said. Her voice was laced with worry as she spoke. Iggy gently touched her forehead.

"She has a fever. Nudge! Get me a cloth dipped in cool water." He called to the young girl with mocha skin. Nudge nodded and dug into one of the backpacks, searching for some cloth and a water bottle. She pulled out a water bottle, but couldn't find anything to use to place on Eris' forehead. Gazzy, who was sitting next to her, reached in and pulled out some cloth that she was having trouble finding. She gave him a gracious smile before handing it to the slightly blind bird-boy.

Iggy laid the cloth on her head after dipping it in the water bottle. Eris groaned in her sleep, sounding like she was hurting. Lány bit her lip; it hurt her to see anyone in her family in pain, especially when it was something she couldn't do anything about.

"Please be okay, E." she whispered. Eris stopped moaning and settled into a more peaceful sleep. Lány smiled slightly, gripping the other girl's hand once more.

Iggy stared at the shape of the two girls. His eyesight was good enough now to make out facial features, but he was near-sighted and unable to see anything clearly farther than a few feet away.

"She'll be okay." He assured Lány. "She's strong. She'll pull through this."

Lány nodded, still unsure about the whole ordeal. Her blue eyes scanned the rest of the cave coming to rest on Dylan. He was sitting as close to the mouth of the cave as possible talking in hushed whispers with Max. The group had collectively decided that it would be better if he stayed out of Eris' eyesight for the time being.

"I'm gonna have Sparrow check the ITEX base again where Otto and Finn are. Maybe I can find a more stable entrance and escape route." Lány told Iggy. He nodded as she pulled a small remote with a screen out of her pocket.

"Do you mind if I watch?" he asked. Lány shook her head and held it out so he could see it better.

The camera flickered to life showing the face of a sleeping Otto. It slowly panned upward as Sparrow climbed out of Otto's crate. There were four, solid white brick walls with empty cages lining the corners of the floor. To the right showed a sleeping Finn. Sparrow flew towards the door and landed on a crate right next to the handle. It prepared to open the door, but it swung open and the mechanical bat hid inside the crate.

A scientist followed by a superhuman carrying a small child with curly blond hair entered the room. He unceremoniously tossed the child into the cage to Otto's left before both exited the room. Iggy's heart lurched.

"Lány, can you get a closer look at the child they just dumped in that crate?" he asked, his heart beating a mile a minute. Lány nodded and pressed several buttons, causing the camera to move in the direction of the cage. Iggy held his breath as the camera slowly, _agonizingly_, peered into the now occupied crate.

"Max!" Iggy shouted frantically. Max jumped up and quickly moved over to see what had Iggy so—

She was met with an image of a sleeping little girl, seven or eight years old, with curly blond hair. Metal replaced one of her arms and one of her legs which were visible under her white hospital gown. Max sucked in a gasp and tears formed in her big brown eyes.

"Angel…" she breathed and a blue and red eye opened to stare straight at the mechanical bat.


	9. Chapter 8: Infiltrating ITEX

**Eris: Wow... It's been twenty days since my last update already? Gosh, time flies. **

**Iggy: Yeah, especially when you're procrastinating and all that.**

**Eris" Heh! Watching Doctor Who and writing for my book have been eating up my time! I planned on writing more for this; I already have several future scenes written and waiting for their coorect order. **

**Iggy: I don't think the few readers you have want to sit here reading your idiotic chatter.**

**Eris: _OUR_ idiotic chatter. **

**Iggy: Whatever...**

**Eris: ALSO, I've been rehersing for my play: Putnum County Spelling Bee which is going to be hilarious! I can't wait to perform... the lights on my face... the cheers from the crowd, the**—

**Iggy: Eris, you're an understudy for Chip and an extra speller. **

**Eris: And Leaf's Mom!**

**Iggy: *shakes head* _and_ Leaf's mom, but you have no major roles. Chip's a guy and I don't think he's getting sick anytime soon either.**

**Eris: *grins evilly* not unless he has an... _accident_...**

**Iggy: *shakes head* Nah, you like him too much to injure him fatally.**

**Eris: *shruggs* he's a cool guy.**

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><p><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>**: I don't own**** Maximum Ride****or**** Putnum County Spelling Bee****.****Or Doctor Who either. Sorry.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 8: Infiltrating ITEX<span>**

"Wait a second; can you explain the plan to me again?" Cale whispered. Maya sighed irritably from his left.

"Look, you, Fang, and Ratchet are breaking into the facility through the air vents. You three find a computer, crack the password, and download the files concerning your family. Comprende?" she explained. Cale nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah, but what are the rest of you doing?"

Maya grinned, a grin not too different from one seen on a Cheshire Cat. "We're the… 'distraction' that's going to cover your escape." She replied, making air quotes with her fingers at the word "distraction".

"_I have a __**really**__ bad feeling about this…"_ Cale thought as Fang tapped the back of his hand once: follow me. Fang led the way to the back of the large building and quietly removed the metal grate covering the air vents. Ratchet, no longer wearing sunglasses or ear buds, went in first followed by Cale with Fang taking up the rear.

The vents were dark; the only light came from the grates covering the openings to several different rooms. Ratchet led the way through the inky black network of vents, but soon all three teenagers stopped when a loud beeping sound resounded through the vents.

"What is—" Ratchet started to ask but was interrupted by gas filtering into the vents. "Don't breathe it in!" he hissed. Cale started to panic; this wasn't according to plan! Thinking quick, Ratchet pounded on the nearest grate until it opened. He dropped through into a storage room followed by Cale and Fang.

"That was _not_ cool." Cale said with a cough. Fang replaced the grate without another word.

"What was that stuff?" Ratchet asked as he scanned the supplies in the storage room.

Fang shook his head slowly, running a hand through his dark hair. "I should've known; there're motion detectors in the vents which release poison every time it picks up on movement." He explained. "It's a way to keep intruders out and unwanted rodents."

Ratchet nodded. He glanced around the room and his eyes came to rest of several white lab coats hanging in the corner. A smile spread onto his thin lips at his discovery. "Boys, we've been hit with some good luck."

Fang turned to look at the other boy emotionlessly. Ratchet pointed to the lab coats and Fang's lips turned up into a smirk. He unhooked one from the peg it was resting on and slipped into the sterilized cotton fabric.

"I guess we're going undercover." Fang commented, handing a coat to the other two mutants.

"Won't people recognize us?" Cale asked skeptically as he shoved his arm into one of the sleeves. Fang simply shrugged.

"Keep your head down."

Without much warning, the dark haired "Avian American" opened the door and stepped into the blinding light of the white hallway. There was a thick, antiseptic smell wafting down the corridors, but the hall outside the storage room was vacant of any living beings. Cale clanked nervously from side to side, unable to push away his dread about being inside an ITEX facility once again.

"Search for a control room or something with a computer." Fang whispered.

"Two scientists are preparing to walk down this hallway." Ratchet whispered back. "Act natural."

The three boys fell into step with their heads lowered as the scientists approached. They paid no attention to the incognito mutants and passed them without a second glance. With the scientists gone, all three guys exchanged glances.

"We need to find a computer." Fang said. Ratchet nodded and scanned the names of the rooms lining the hallway. He pointed to one.

"That one is empty and there's a hum from a computer coming from inside." He said. The small team quickly made their way to their destination.

"Ratchet, Cale, get what we need from the computer. I'll keep watch." Fang said, taking up a position by the door. He left it cracked open ever so slightly so he could see into the hallway. The other two nodded and went to work.

Ratchet scanned the keyboard, his eyes picking up the fingerprints left behind from the last user. "I see a 'R', 'Q', 'P', 'M', 'L', '1', '2', and '7'." He said "From the imprints, the 'R' is the most faded and the 'L' has the most prominent, so it looks like 'R' is the first letter and 'L' is the last. We'll have to start guessing on the others."

Cale typed in "R1PQ27ML", but the screen flashed with "ACCESS DENIED" in large red letters. "RPQ72M1L", "R7Q2M1PL", and "RQPM127L" didn't work either. Cale gave a frustrated sigh and pounded his fist on the table next to the keyboard.

"This isn't working! There're too many combinations to go through." Cale hissed. Ratchet shoved the other mutant out of the way and stared at the keyboard for a good few minutes. His fingers ran over the keyboard and typed in another combination: "R1Q2P7ML". "ACCESS GRANTED" in large green letters flashed across the screen and the computer came to life.

"See? Not impossible." Ratchet said with a cocky grin. Cale rolled his eyes and began digging. He went through several different files before coming to one marked "_Vampire Project"._ He scoffed slightly. _It seems like they haven't given up on Eris __**quite**__ yet._

Inside he found a file on Eris; it talked about her limits, her advantages, her fighting style, ect… It even mentioned that ITEX had set someone, someone _important_ on her to observe her. And they did it recently, like within the week recent. It mentioned the flock and Cale waved Fang over.

"Read this." Cale ordered.

"_VP01 is now traveling with the avian-human hybrids created by JEB BATCHELDER that call themselves 'THE FLOCK'. Observed by CAMEROSE. Progress is unknown, but VP01 was said to have had a mental breakdown and is currently incapacitated. CAMEROSE has scheduled all but VP01 for expiration. Orders will be carried out in maximum of five days."_

Fang shook his head angrily. "We have to find them. This is proof Dylan is working against us. Print this as well."

Cale nodded and printed that as well as digging for more. He came to a file marked "IDAHO BRANCH" and found another file with "_INVENTORY"_ in it. Inside held two documents with images of Finn and Otto. Cale printed those as well before exited out of everything and slipping the papers into the pocket of his jeans. He turned to Fang and Ratchet.

"They're in Idaho; I printed maps and other things to help us get there."

Fang nodded. "Let's go." He pulled a walkie-talkie out of his own pocket and pressed the talk button. "Engage."

"Roger." The walkie-talkie responded in a fuzzy, female voice. No more than two minutes later, a fire alarm went off as well as another alarm. Fang smirked at his other two companions.

"That would be our cue."

* * *

><p>Dr. Camerose sat at her desk, writing in a notebook as well as occasionally glancing into a microscope. A young man in a white lab coat ran into her room and came to a stop at the door.<p>

"Doctor, Mister Lin has requested an audience with you."

Dr. Camerose turned to the scientist who spoke. She nodded at him before removing her glasses and pushing a strand of graying blond hair out of her eyes. She sighed wearily and began cleaning her glasses.

"Thank you. I shall be in the conference room in twenty minutes. Set up the screen so I may speak with him."

The other scientist nodded and left the room, leaving Dr. Camerose to her own thoughts. She took several deep breaths, preparing herself for the grueling discussion bound to occur in about twenty minutes. Producing the genetically altered human soldiers Mr. Lin wanted was a very slow process, even slower with the search for the remaining experiments of the _Chiroptera Project_ and having to deal with the avian hybrids as well.

Dr. Camerose sighed and collected the files she would need before exiting her lab and heading for the conference room. It was a short walk, and despite her nervousness she entered the conference room with her head held high.

"Mr. Terrace, set up the screen so I can have the audience requested by Mr. Lin." She told the short, pudgy man in charge of the controls. He nodded and after pressing several buttons the screen flickered to life; it showed the face of a tall, this Korean man: Mr. Lin. Dr. Camerose bowed with respect.

"Dr. Camerose, would you care to explain what is taking so long for the production of my army?" he demanded. Dr. Camerose gritted her teeth; she never liked being criticized by people who didn't understand what it was they were criticizing.

"Sir, creating fully functioning genetically advanced humans takes time." She explained, trying to stay as polite as possible. "Plus, we are close to re-obtaining experiment VP01; with her gene pool we will be able to create great warriors that will make these 'superhumans' inferior."

Mr. Lin didn't look impressed. "But the experiment is not in your current possession, correct? I am funding this program and I expect results. You have one hundred and twenty hours to obtain experiment VP01 or have ten thousand genetically altered soldiers ready for me." He disappeared as the screen went black, leaving a fuming female scientist standing in the conference room.

"I can't finish creating an army in five days!" she shouted. Dr. Camerose paced angrily, her hand resting over her mouth as she thought. She turned to one of the other scientists standing in the room. "Increase production for the genetically altered soldiers by fifteen percent." She ordered.

"Ma'am, what about tracking down and capturing experiment VP01?" he asked. Dr. Camerose only sighed.

"That's up to my son at the moment." She responded. The other scientist nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am. I shall have out team recruit more members immediately and we shall increase production as you ordered." He said before dismissing himself from the conference room. Dr. Camerose watched him go.

"Five days…" she muttered, glancing up at the screen Mr. Lin's face occupied moments earlier. "I'll show _you_ five days…"

She stalked out of the conference room and headed back to her lab. She took a seat in front of the microscope and sifted through the remaining files on the table until she came to the ones she was looking for: experiments ALPHAten and BETAtwelve. Dr. Camerose stood up again and brought the files with her when she left the room.

Two corridors away, she came to a stop in front of a training room. Inside were two young men sparring, but they were moving at a pace faster than any normal human could. Dr. Camerose opened the door and the two young men halted and came to stand in front of her.

"ALPHAten and BETAtwelve, I need you both to train our new 'recruits'." She said. They both nodded, not speaking. "I also need to gather some of your DNA through blood samples."

"Why?" ALPHAten asked.

"You both are the most successful soldiers we've created; by infusing your DNA with our other soldiers we are creating, we will end up with a more successful way to clone you."

Both soldiers nodded and Dr. Camerose pulled two syringes out of the pocket of her lab coat. Both men handed her their arms; she made quick work of gathering blood from them before leaving them to their business without offering another word.

"Dr. Camerose!"

She turned to glance uninterestedly at the female scientist running down the hallway toward her. "Pruitt" was written on her nametag. Dr. Camerose stopped in the hallway and allowed the short Indian woman to catch up. She was breathing hard when she reached Dr. Camerose, but that didn't deter her from her original goal.

"What?" Dr. Camerose snapped, causing Pruitt to flinch.

"We, uh, we have a… situation."

"What?"

"At the facility in Nevada."

Dr. Camerose saw red. "What _exactly_ is going on?" she asked, icily calm. Pruitt swallowed hard, hating the fact that she had to be the messenger.

"There was a break in. Files for the schematics of this branch were taken as well as information on experiments F3351b and T6712y."

"Morons…" Dr. Camerose muttered as she spun around and continued walking. "I told them to protect those files better! No, _one_ password is enough. Hah! One password my ass. Pruitt!"

The woman addressed stiffened and scampered over to her superior.

"Do something about the break in."

Pruitt nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."


	10. Chapter 9: Rescue Me

**Eris: Ugh, it's been a while...**

**Iggy: I wouldn't be surprised if you lost all of your readers.**

**Eris: I know, I know, it's just that I've been busy with Not My Brightest Moment and school has been killer. Forgive me! I wrote a longer chapter than usual for you all and this is where the story gets better, I promise!**

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAMIER: <strong>**If I owned Maximum Ride, them Dylan wouldn't exist and Fang wouldn't have left.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 9: Rescue Me<span>**

My head was pounding, like a drum, when I opened my eyes. The sun was shining directly into them and I groaned, rolling over to move myself out of the light.

"Eris!" Lány shouted as she tackled me. "Are you feeling okay? Does your head hurt? Are you in pain? Can you—"

"_Yes_, Lány. To all your questions." I mumbled. My stomach growled and I was suddenly aware of how thirsty I was. "Can I have some water and—" I cut myself off when I realized just how strange finishing that sentence with _'and some blood'_ would sound. Lány, as if reading my mind, handed me a canteen. I lifted it to my lips and gulped down the fluid hungrily. I smiled at her; it was blood.

"Eris?"

I looked up to see Iggy standing in front of me, worry etched onto his features. He crouched down to look at me with his gray-blue eyes.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked as he ran a hand through my hair and over to cup my cheek. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I just had this awful dream that—" my eyes came to rest on Dylan and I sucked in a breath, every muscle in my body tensing. Iggy pressed down on my shoulders with both hands to prevent me from lunging, standing, or performing any other sort of movement. "Not a dream…" I ground out, bloodlust trickling into my veins.

"He doesn't remember who he used to be." Lány tentatively assured from my left. I snorted.

"Is that what he told you?"

"Yes." Dylan answered, coming closer. I watched him warily and unconsciously moved my body to fit between Lány and him. He wouldn't harm anyone else in my family. He could try, but I'd kill him before he could touch even a single hair on Lány's head.

"Stay away from me." I hissed, baring my fangs at him. Dylan stopped and slowly sat down.

"I know what you must be thinking and I can't even begin to imagine how you feel, but _please_ trust me. I swear on all that is good and holy that I remember _nothing_. If I was a monster, I want to change that. _Please_ give me a second chance."

His bright blue eyes stared imploringly into my own. I held his gaze for what seemed like hours before finally sighing and looking away.

"I won't trust you, but I won't try to kill you either." I said. Dylan nodded him consent. I watched as he moved back to where Max sat. Once he was a safe enough distance away, I turned to Lány and pulled her into my arms. I wanted to scream, to cry, _anything_. This _couldn't_ be happening. He was dead! Why did he have to come back…?

"Eris, it's okay." Lány said. "Please don't cry."

I have to pull myself together. I sucked in a deep breath and held it for ten seconds before pulling away from Lány and standing. I cracked my neck and back.

"We should get moving." I told the younger girl. "We've wasted enough time here while I was—"

"—unconscious?" Lány offered. I nodded brusquely.

"Right, unconscious. We need to go save Finn, Cale and Otto. It time to—"

"Oh, by the way, Cale got free. He's out looking for us." Lány interrupted (again). I sighed in annoyance. Brilliant. Now after rescuing those two, we had to go off searching for Cale. And only God knows where he could be!

I pinched the bridge of my nose and breathed out slowly. I shouldn't be complaining. Who knows what horrors ITEX was subjecting Otto and Finn to at the moment? Did I really wish for Cale to be going though that too so it was more _convenient_? I shook the thought out of my head.

"We'll worry about him later. AT the moment we know where Finn and Otto are so we'll focus on them." I glanced at Iggy. "You guys ready to go?"

Iggy looked over at Max. She came over to stand by him. "We're ready to go. They have Angel."

"Angel?" I reiterated looking at Iggy for confirmation.

"We thought she died back when we were fighting the Doomsday Group. Apparently not." He explained. I nodded.

"So even more of a reason for you all to help us."

I lifted my arms and took a running leap out of the cave, my wings catching the air and allowing me to soar up. I glanced down to see Lány and the Flock following. Max came to fly next to me.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"Idaho." She answered. "Lány somehow managed to get a device in the building to find them. A metal… bat I believe."

I small grin curled my lips up. _Sparrow…_ I guess he is more use than I initially thought.

"It'll be maybe an hour flight from here." Max added. I nodded at her.

"Not long at all."

* * *

><p>The ITEX building was huge, like most were, and left no markings to show what it truly was. Lány, Iggy and I were going to infiltrate the building, rescue Otto and Finn, and then the others would have a get-away car waiting for us so we could make a hasty retreat. There was no telling what shape my family was in so flying may not be an option.<p>

It was dusk, the perfect time for a break in. All three of us flew up to the top of the building where Lány said there was a roof door. It was locked. Iggy made quick work of it and within seconds we were inside the building. The halls were unnaturally quiet, something that had me extremely nervous. When things were this quiet—

"Stop! Who goes there?" a voice shouted from behind us. We whirled around to see a scientist and a superhuman standing in the corridor. Iggy and I exchanged glances.

"We take out the superhuman first and then worry about the scientist." I hissed under my breath. Iggy nodded and we launching into action.

The fight was short and left an unconscious scientist and a broken, bleeding superhuman on the floor. We once again began our trek forward, relying on Lány to find the way with her psychic link to Otto.

"They're over here." Lány whispered. Iggy and I followed behind her as she led the way. I was twitchy and full of adrenaline, especially after the minor fight we just got out of. Lány stopped in front of a room that had metal bars over the small window. "This is it."

Iggy nimbly fiddled with the door handle and a paperclip for about six seconds before the lock popped open. He grinned cheekily at me as he opened the door.

Rows of empty cages lined the walls and to my left were holding two very familiar occupants.

"Eris!" Finn and Otto yelled at the sane time another voice yelled "Iggy!" I rushed over the Otto's cage and broke the lock off as Iggy worked on opening the cage to Otto's left. I helped the thirteen-year-old out of the box and hugged him tightly to my chest.

"Thank you for coming for us." He whispered. I grinned at him, kissing the top of his head.

"Always."

I pushed him gently toward Lány, allowing the twins to embrace, before working on unlocking Finn's cage. My hands were shaking so bad that I couldn't open it so Iggy, holding a small blonde girl, took over and popped it open. Finn climbed out and tears finally began to form in my eyes. He smiled at me with a split lip and there was a cut over his right eyes. Bruises covered his arms and legs as well as dry blood matting his onyx hair.

"Eris—"

I tackled him with a sob. He winced but gently encircled my body with his arms and allowed me to cry.

"I thought I'd never see you again." I whispered brokenly, grief finally catching up with me. He stroked the back of my head softly, running his hands through my bleached hair. "What was I supposed to do without you?"

"You seem like you've managed well without me." He commented. "I mean, you _did_ manage to rescue us."

I shook my head fiercely. "Not really. I had a mental breakdown when I—"

"I don't mean to interrupt," Iggy said, cutting me off, "but we kind of need to get out of here."

Finn staggered as we moved to leave, so I pulled his arm over my shoulders to take some of his weight. Iggy was carrying the little blond girl and Otto and Lány were holding hands as we slipped out of the detainment room. Outside stood two superhumans who had been preparing to enter the room.

"!" I swore. I released my hold on Finn and ran at the one on the left. Iggy took the one standing on the right while Lány helped Finn stand. Otto came up next to me with his fists raised.

I grabbed the superhuman's head and bashed it on my knee before biting into his arm that he tried to hit me with. Blood from my opponent filled my mouth and Otto kicked his legs out from under him. The superhuman fell after I punched him straight in the face, effectively dazing him. Otto jumped n his left leg, a sickening snap coming from the limb; Otto had broken it. The superhuman made no sound despite his major injuries. I decided he was no longer a threat at the moment and moved to help Iggy incapacitate the other superhuman.

"Heads up!" I shouted to Iggy as the superhuman swung at him. Iggy ducked and them broke the superhuman's wrist after it passed over his head. I lifted my arms, spreading my wings, and jumped feet first at the superhuman. My feet connected with his spine, severing it.

"Let's hurry before they heal." Iggy said. He picked up the blond girl (who I now noticed had metal replacing pieces of her body) and I took Finn's weight from Lány. Out little group stumbled down the hallway heading for the way out.

If you ask me, leaving the front door clear and unlocked was pretty stupid on their part.

Max was waiting in the van as we rushed out of the ITEX building. _Still_ no sirens sounded alerting to what had just occurred. This seemed way too easy.

Nudge slid the side door of the van open and we got in, Max driving away before the door was even shut.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just get away without being chased? Oh, but that would be too easy. Of _course_ two black hummers had to peel out of the ITEX building after us.

"Can't we ever catch a break?" Max muttered angrily as she floored it, hissing an expletive under her breath. I bit my tongue as my head connected with the side door.

"Can't you try _**not**_ to kill us all?" I snapped. Max snorted and made another sharp turn. I yelped as Finn landed on my leg. He managed an apology that I quickly waved away. It wasn't _his_ fault; it was the deranged bird-girl driving the van!

"Sorry, but I'm trying to keep us from being captured by insane evil scientists at the moment." She snapped back at me. "Suck it up right now, Princess, or we'll all be dead."

Finn adjusted himself so he was sitting next to me. Our legs were tangled, but with Max's horrible driving it was probably the only thing keeping us from tumbling around anymore. Otto and Lány had gripped what remained of the center seats while Iggy, Nudge, and the blonde cyborg girl were struggling in the back.

Town was approaching, but the black hummers were gaining on us. Was that gunfire…? I heard Max mutter another curse word as she drove off of the and into the gravel.

"Up and away, guys. We gotta _move_!" she shouted. I yanked open one of the sliding doors and shoved the twins out. They were up in the air followed by Gazzy, Nudge, and the blonde girl. Iggy and I were next followed by our respective leaders soon after.

"Don't look back! Just fly!" Finn shouted. He sounded farther away than he should be, so I glanced back to see him lagging behind. I turned around and wrapped my left arm around his shoulder; we flapped out outside wings in synch to gain altitude and be able to fly more properly. Finn sighed exasperatedly at me.

"I told you not to look back." His bright green eyes glared into my pitch black, but I simply grinned at him.

"Naturally, that meant I had to."

He rolled his eyes at me, but a small smile played on his lips. "_Naturally_."

We flew in silence, and I only glanced back once to se the hummers and the people within them fading into the distance. We had slowly started lagging behind, but the others were still in our sight so I didn't worry.

I took the moment to study my leader; Finn was tall with onyx hair that shined the sunlight. It was greasy, to be expected from being help prisoner. He had defined cheekbones that gave way to slightly slanted almond-shaped emerald eyes. He had full lips, usually resting in a flat line, while his teeth were perfect save one tooth on his bottom row. A bruise was spread on the left side of his face, slightly marring his tanned skin. All-in-all, Finn was handsome. He turned his head slightly and caught me staring. I quickly glanced forward, a blush fanning out on my cheeks. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him smirking.

"I've missed you." I blurted out, only making my embarrassment increase. A genuine smile replaced his smirk.

"I missed you too, Eris." He said. Slowly, I could feel myself lean closer to him and—

"Oi! Love-birds, we're landing!" Iggy shouted, shattering the moment and scaring us half to death. I made a face at him as he descended, but nodded my agreement.

"Do you need my help to land?" I asked Finn. He shook his head, his black hair falling over his eyes. I started to pull out of his embrace, but he gripped me a little tighter.

"But I'd _like_ you to."

My face heated up once again and I nodded.

"Hello, we're _trying_ to get going, you two." Iggy shouted again. I glared down at him as Finn muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "cock-blocker". A small smile tugged my lips upward and we landed. Iggy waited with his arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping impatiently. He shook his head with a sigh.

"You're worse than Max and Fang when they were dating."  
>Lány, sweet precious <em>goddess<em> little Lány, chose that moment to save us from further awkwardness with Iggy. She ran over to Finn and hugged him around his waist. I stepped back to watch as the younger girl cried into his tattered t-shirt. It was then that I noticed Max and the cyborg girl talking.

"A-angel?"

Angel smiled, nodding her head and causing her golden curls to bounce around her shoulders.

"But, we thought you were dead."

"I know, Angel voiced, lifting up her metal arm. "I wasn't unharmed and the whitecoats had to remake me." She paused and looked down. "Do you, do you still love me?"

Tears were welling up in Max's eyes, but she blinked them back, pulling the little girl into a hug. She buried her face in Angel's hair, crying silently.

"Oh, Angel. How could I ever stop loving you? You're my baby and I could _never_ stop loving you no matter what." She assured. Angel nodded slowly, still not convinced.

"But I'm not like any of you anymore. I'm even less human now and my wings are just a metal copy."

Max pulled away to smile at her. "Angel, none of us will _ever_ be fully human or normal. I love you, Angel, just the way you are."

"Metal limbs and all?"

Max nodded and kissed Angel's forehead. "Metal limbs and all."

Angel wrapped her little arms around Max's neck and hugged her as tears poured from her human eye. "Thank you, Max." she gasped out a breath of air and started to sob. Max only held her tighter. "Thank you! I love you too."

It was so touching watching them reunited. It made my heart ache when I thought of all the people in my life I had lost: my parents, my biological younger brother, the three other bat-human hybrids who died, Maxx, Cale…

I glanced over at Finn to see him standing more easily. We healed faster than normal humans and his injuries had probably been there for some time.

"We need to find Cale." Finn said, turning his attention to e. "Cale escaped so he's probably out there alone."

"Yeah." I agreed. I turned to Iggy. "We need to find the rest of our family. I guess this is goodbye."

Max walked over with Angel's hand in her own. She shook her head. "We promised we'd help you find your family, _all_ of them, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Max?" Nudge called, grabbing her leader's attention. "Where's Dylan? I mean, I could've sworn he was with us before Iggy, Eris, and Lány left to rescue her family but now he's not with us. Do you think he got captured?" she paused to gasp. "What if he _did_ get captured! Then what would we do? We can't leave him because he's a part of our family now (I guess) and—"

Iggy covered the chatterbox's mouth, stopping the onslaught of words. She smiled sheepishly as his hand retracted.

"Sorry."

"Dylan told me he was going to scope out this town and find us a place to stay for the night." Max explained. I opened my mouth to protest but she silenced me with a glare. "I don't care if you don't trust him, _I_ do. He's part of my family so deal with it."

Finn glanced down at me and mouthed 'Dylan'. I nodded slowly and he paled.

Just another thing to add to the list…

* * *

><p>Dr. Camerose slammed her hand down on the table with her son's update. Why couldn't anything go <em>right<em> for once? She ran a hand through her hair and readjusted her glasses. Now they no longer had experiments F3351b and T6712y to use as bait for VP01.

It was all going to go downhill from here.

"Mother?" Dylan's voice came through scratchy and almost unrecognizable. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" she asked wearily. Mister Lin was going to have her _head_ if she didn't—

"Send in experiment W7643d. He would shake the Colony up enough for me to separate them for us." Dylan responded. Dr. Camerose took a moment to think. It was quite a sound plan, if she did say so herself.

"Send me your coordinates and I shall do as you request."

The line fell silent, signaling Dylan shut off the transceiver. Dr. Camerose hit a button on her desk.

"Send in experiment W7643d."

No more than two minutes later, a tall man with brown hair with the tips naturally white and soulless black eyes stepped into the room. Maxx smirked at Camerose.

"How may I be of assistance?"


	11. Chapter 10: Maxx

**Eris" Yo, I'm back! And it's only been a little over a month.**

**Iggy: *snort* Yeah, not too shabby.**

**Eris: *glares at Iggy* Ignore him. Anyway, I'm happy to say that this chapter wasn't too impossible to write. I also have some news! If you want to see future scenes for this story as well as some of my others, check out this website:**

**chaosangel4us . tumblr . com (take out the spaces)**

**I assure you, you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!**

**PS: I like cliffhangers! But my above website has the first part of the next chapter posted!**

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER:<strong>** Iggy and I have secretly stolen the Maximum Ride rights so now it's mine. Get some.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 10: Maxx<span>**

Let me tell you: trees are a lot more comfortable than they look. Dylan had found this park in the town we were in and we decided to take residence in the trees. I was on the branch closest to the bottom with Otto while Finn and Lány were directly above us. It was peaceful; I had never felt so at ease in my life. Everyone was asleep if their deep breathing was anything to go by. I was rather comfortable, but I honestly couldn't sleep. Adrenaline was still pounding through my veins from our recent rescue of my family. Otto was passed out with his head on my lower leg using it as a pillow. I reached out and ran a hand through his brown hair. He shifted at my touch, opening his eyes to look at me.

"You okay, E?" he whispered. I nodded, my hand falling away from his head.

"I'm just glad that you and Finn are safe."

Otto sat up. I realized that the leg he was sleeping on earlier was numb so I shook some feeling back into it.

"Sorry." He whispered. I grinned and nodded my acceptance I opened my mouth to speak when something dropped from the sky, passed the tree's branches, and landed with a thud on the ground. Everyone pretty much awoke at that. My eyes shot down to see what the he—

My blood ran cold and I couldn't breathe. A pair of pitch black eyes stared cockily up at me as the person below shook leaves off of his clothes.

"Good to see you all again. Missed me?"

Finn dropped down to stand before the other man. "Can we help you?" he asked coldly. Otto joined him and everyone else (including Max's flock) except me soon followed.

"Yes, you can actually." The intruder responded. "I'd like to speak with my colony. _Only_ my colony."

Finn snorted. "Yeah right. I know what side you're on. That's _not_ going to happen."

"Eris?" he asked, looking up at me. I was still frozen on my perch in the tree. He was dead; I watched him die! I avenged his death. This _couldn't_ be him!

"Trust me." Maxx commanded. His eyes shone in the moonlight.

"I—"

"Eris, he's not on our side anymore!" Otto shouted up at me. "He helped capture us!"

"Five minutes is all I ask."

Finn snarled at Maxx. "I'm not letting you _anywhere_ near my family." He hissed before launching himself at our former leader. The rest of the mutants with us shifted and I noticed Max, Iggy, and Nudge start forward to help Finn.

"No," Otto said, stopping the other three mutants, "this only concerns us. Don't get involved."

Maxx took to the air and flew off, Finn in hot pursuit. Otto and Lány shared a glance (probably debating mentally with each other) before they too followed after our leader.

"Eris, who was that?" Iggy asked, jumping up to sit beside me. My mind vaguely registered that his sight had improved even more than yesterday. I was clutching the branch I was sitting on tightly enough to cause my knuckles to turn white. I hadn't moved from my spot yet. "Eris?"

"That was Maxx. _Dylan_" I spat, "killed him two years ago. I don't know how he's still alive or why he's attacking us."

It was twilight, the only light coming from the half moon and multitude of stars. The atmosphere _screamed_ peace, but fate had other plans. My heart _hurt_; it hurt _so_ badly. How could ITEX do something like this? Were they _really_ that sadistic? First they clone Dylan, and now they have Maxx on their side. What was next; would they clone the rest of my family and send them after us?

My mind was made up. I took to the skies without another word, using my echolocation and hearing to find where Maxx and my colony were fighting. Max was circling them on the ground, taunting the twins with Finn standing protectively in front of them. From where I was I could see that Otto's shoulder was bleeding and he was holding it while the attached arm hung limply at his side. Lány, brave little Lány, was sporting a cut across her eye but otherwise wasn't too worse for wear. Finn was still not recovered from his time in ITEX so the fight with Maxx had left him even more battered than he already was.

"Do you really think you can best me, Finn ol' boy?" Maxx taunted. "You never managed to overpower me when we were younger. What makes you think you can now?"

I gritted my teeth and charged Maxx, ramming into his side and knocking him off balance. Maxx shouted in surprise, catching himself in time for me to punch him in the jaw. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Finn stager to the ground, his wounds no longer allowing him to stand.

"WHY?" I shouted, dodging one of his punches and kicking him in the chest. He reeled back, a snarl on his lips. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I stared at him. I charged again. "You were dead! Why do you have to come back and haunt us?"

"Haunt you?" he echoed as he avoided my next blow. He caught my fist, pulling me close to him and smirking at my fierce expression. "Is that what you think I'm here for?"

I stopped short. "Why else would you be here?"

With his free hand, Maxx traced my jaw with his forefinger. Subconsciously, I found myself lean into him. I had dreamed of him touching me for years… I had loved him ever since my eyes first landed on him. When he died, part of me died with him. I found myself in his arms in my dreams, and now here I was—

"I'm here to kill you." He whispered in my ear coupled with a malicious chuckle. I flinched back.

"Eris!" Finn shouted from behind me, probably struggling to stand and fight again. Maxx laughed again; he grasped my body close to his chest and stared at Finn from above my head.

"What is it, Finn? Does this make you nervous?" he asked, caressing my face none too gently. I flinched again, but my body was numb from his admission. He was here to kill us? But, he was our leader; he cared for us! Didn't he?

"Don't touch her." Finn hissed, dead serious. That only caused Maxx to laugh again.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Maxx asked. He forced my face up to meet his gaze. "Besides she isn't exactly protesting very much."

I couldn't speak; my tongue felt like lead in my mouth. Maxx was alive! This should be a _good_ thing. Why is he fighting against us?

"Get away from her! Eris!" Finn shouted this time. Maxx smirked again.

"Make me."

And with that he forced his lips on top of mine in a crushing, needy kiss. I unconsciously gasped, allowing him to force his tongue into my mouth on top of that. His arms were gripping me too tightly and his teeth bit into my lips so hard I could feel them bleeding, but I didn't care. Maxx was kissing me. My first kiss and _Maxx_ was kissing _me_. I felt a moan rise up in my throat and I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

My mind was no longer connected. Maxx was kissing me and that was all that my brain was registering at the moment. It wasn't until his hands moved to grasp me around the throat and choke me did I remember Maxx was no longer on our side. With a strangled shout, I yanked my mouth away from him. There was a dangerous glint in his black eyes, a sadistic glint, and I knew that if I didn't get away _soon_ I was going to be choked to death.

"Eris!"

The pressure was gone and I fell back, gasping for air. I looked up to see that Lány had attacked Maxx and pushed him off of me. Otto and Finn were both standing in front of me, glaring at our former leader.

"Leave, Maxx, and we won't kill you." Finn ordered. Maxx shrugged.

"Very well. But don't forget this isn't over."

His smirk that he aimed at me was predatory in nature and he didn't leave without a wink.

"Bye, Eris. By the way, Finn, she's quite the kisser."

I could see Finn's hands tighten as his sides as he resisted the urge to say something back. The four of us stood there in silence as we watched Maxx take to the air and fly off. We waited an extra few minutes to be sure he was gone before turning 'round to head back to camp.

* * *

><p>It was late and I had offered to take first watch. I really needed to clear my head due to today's events. We had most of the night left to sleep, but we relocated into some woods for better protection. Maximum and Finn had put together a fire and now I was sitting on the ground in front of it both listening for intruders and thinking primarily about Maxx.<p>

Someone sat down next to me and I looked over to see that it was Max. She stared ahead at the flames, not looking at me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. I started to shake my head, but decided that maybe talking about it would help me make sense of it.

"It's just that Maxx and I knew each other ever since we were both taken by ITEX. I fell in love with him and he gave his life to protect us. It's really hard now to see him on ITEX's side." I looked at her and she met my gaze. "He tried to _kill_ me today, Max. Why is it that I still feel so strongly for him despite the fact that he's out to kill us now?"

"Soulmate." Max muttered.

"What?"

"Soulmate." She repeated. "The voice, this little voice I— never mind. Well, anyway, a soulmate is basically a person that you are destined to be with. You can't get them out of your head no matter how hard you try and you always seem to gravitate toward them. I'm not saying this Maxx person is your soulmate, but it's really all I have."

"Have you ever felt betrayed by someone you love?" I asked, not expecting her to answer. Max sighed.

"Yes, I have actually. My best friend, Fang, left our flock a couple months ago partially due to this whitecoat we know named Jeb who told us Dylan was supposed to be my perfect other half."

"Wait, you know Jeb too?" I asked, surprised. Max nodded.

"Uh, yeah. He's my father and he broke us out of the School, and ITEX building. How do you know him?"

"He rescued us too. He got knocked out during our escape so I assumed he was dead. Tall white guy with glasses and a gray mustache?"

Max nodded. "Yup. That's the one. Always knew he was hardheaded."

We both shared a smile.

"Back to what I was saying; Fang left us which _really_ hurt. I loved him, you see, and the fact that he would leave me like that felt like someone had torn something out of me, something I can never get back. Then, we ran into him a little while later and he had created his own group and taken in my clone."

"You have a clone?"

Max nodded. "Yeah. She tried to kill us all too."

"Lovely."

Max smiled. "I know. But yes, I do know how you feel. Granted, Fang has never tried to kill me, but it still hurts when you get betrayed like that."

"Perhaps he was your soulmate. That might be why it hurt so bad."

Max shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. I have Dylan."

I tried to keep from flinching at Dylan's name, but it was hard to do especially after everything he had done to us when he was alive. Max noticed, but she didn't say anything.

"Well, I'll let you get back to watching the skies. I'm going back to sleep."

She stood up and made her way over to Angel.

"Thanks for talking with me." I said. Max nodded, not saying another word. Within fifteen minutes her breathing had evened out and she was asleep.

I gently poked at the fire with a stick, my mind going in circles and trying to pull itself out of the haze it was in. Why did Maxx still have to be alive? I've finally been able to come to terms with his death, and ITEX brings him back to torture us even more. It wasn't fair, not that life was ever fair, but—

"Eris?"

I looked up to see Finn was awake. He was standing on the other side of our small fire staring at me.

"You feeling fine?"

I nodded my head. "More or less."

He took a seat near my, closer than before but leaving enough distance so I would have to stretch my leg to touch him. He sat back and leaned against his upper arms. I watched him as discreetly as possibly. He was still pretty banged up from our fight with Maxx, but it didn't detract from how handsome he truly was. I'd always though he was handsome; ever since we first met I'd found myself slightly attracted to him, but he had paled in comparison to Maxx back when Maxx wasn't a psychopath like ITEX had turned him into.

"Do you ever feel like everything you once knew has collapsed around you, leaving you with no sense of what's real or not?" I asked. Finn glanced at me.

"Why?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. It's just that— no, never mind."

Finn shifted his body so he could see me better. "Eris, talk to me. What's bothering you? You can tell me anything."

I nodded, worrying my lower lip between my teeth. "I know, it's just that— Maxx. I thought he was dead; he died saving us, _protecting _us, but ITEX brought him back to kill us."

"They're just trying to screw with us." Finn said. "That's not Maxx anymore. Maxx _did_ die; whatever that thing with his face is, it's not Maxx."

I smiled at him. "Yeah, but he has Maxx's memories and everything. Some part of Maxx is still in there."

"Eris…" Finn trailed off with I sigh. I waited for him to finish his thought, but nothing else followed. We sat there in silence, but every so often I noticed Finn shift uncomfortably and open his mouth as if he was going to say something. Finally, he sighed again, ran a hand through his hair, and brought his eyes up to meet mine.

"Eris, I love you."


End file.
